The debut album from Terrace Martin, and a set that already has him stretching out and building bridges between scenes and genres – at a level that has continued to make him one of the real giants of the west coast scene! The record's never just about Terrace's keys or saxophone – although his work on both are totally great – and instead, there's an equal presence here from the guests – Robert Glasper on Fender Rhodes, or artists like Kendrick Lamar, Lalah Hathaway, Ty Dolla Sign, Musiq Soulchild, and others on vocals – balancing hip hop and soul with Martin's jazz at the core, as he awakes new ears sounds they never would have discovered otherwise! Titles include "Triangle Ship", "No Wrong No Right", "Over Time", "Watch U Sleep", "Something Else", "You're The One", "I'm For Real", "Gone", and "Motivation". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary meeting of talents in the Studio One studios – the wickedly-grooving Soul Defenders and the heartbreakingly soulful Freddie McKay – both coming together here on an album that was an instant Studio One classic! The Soul Defenders have a slow-stepping groove with a nice current of darkness – a bit like that moodier vibe that some of the more underground soul balladeers were using behind their vocals up north, especially in Philly and New Jersey. The Defenders have a much more Kingston spin, of course, and are graced with excellent lead guitar work from Jah Privy – whose tones ring out nicely next to Freddie's fantastic voice. Tracks include "Picture On The Wall", "You Are Not The Kind", "High School Dance", "Watch Your Step", "Can't Go On", and "Old Joe". CD features lots of bonus tracks – including "I Am A Freeman", "My True Love", "Old & Grey", "Love Is A Treasure (extended)", "Picture On The Wall (version)", "You'll Be Sorry (version)", "Drunken Sailor (version)", and "Picture On The Way (version 3 – with Prince Junior)". CD

Two great lost albums from Carmen – very different than her earlier work, kind of a mixture of jazz, soul, and pop, in territory that's a bit like work by Nancy Wilson or Marlena Shaw. Sound of Silence has Carmen working with arrangments by Shorty Rogers and Jimmy Jones – nicely jazzy, but with other sophisticated touches that open up Carmen's palette a lot. Titles include "Watch What Happens", "Sound Of Silence", "MacArthur Park", "Can You Tell", and "Gloomy Sunday". Portrait Of Carmen is one of her hippest LPs ever, and a great set of vocal gems that often gets overlooked. Arrangements are by Benny Carter, Shorty Rogers, and Oliver Nelson – and the album's got a swinging groovy style that pushes Carmen past her schmaltzier jazz vocal roots. The album kicks off with an amazing reading of Tommy Wolf's "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco", done by Carmen in a way that makes you know she owns the song – and then it moves through a compelling blend of compositions that includes "My Very Own Person", "Ask Any Woman", "Boy, Do I Have A Surprise For You", and "Elusive Butterfly". CD

Very very cool! If you've never seen this baby before – either as the Soundwagon from the 70s, or as the Vinyl Killer from the 90s – here's the scoop: It's a cool little Hot Wheels-type van that actually drives around your record and plays music out of a self-contained speaker! It's got big rubber wheels, an internal motor, and a stylus on the bottom that holds the van in the groove and which tracks the music. Watch the van drive to the middle of the record in slowly descending curves, and hear it play the record while it makes the trip! Honestly the coolest thing we've ever seen, and it comes in a few different colors. (And just so you know, this isn't a hi-tech item that's going to replace your stereo. It's got a tiny little toy speaker on the top – and it sounds like a toy speaker – but it's plenty cool!) Turntable

Perhaps the rarest of all Jimmy Scott albums – and perhaps the best, too! Jimmy cut this one for Ray Charles' Tangerine label (it was the label's first) – a fact that's driven home on the front cover, where a lounging sexy couple is reclining in front of a fire with a bottle of wine and two of Ray's albums from the time! The real star here, though, is Jimmy – who lays down some of the best vocals of his career over totally sympathetic arrangements by Marty Paich and Gerald Wilson, carefully crafting sad lonely versions of standards like "There Is No Greater Love", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Someone To Watch Over Me", and "How Deep Is The Ocean". Jimmy makes these tunes all his own, singing the songs in that wispy fragile gender-bending way that's always been both his biggest strength and greatest curse! CD

Very cool early work from Vangelis – an album recorded right after he left Aphrodite's Child, and with a sound that's not that different than the group's final album 666 – especially in the compelling sonic range that's used throughout! Some tracks are straight ahead, some are experimental, and there's some very interesting keyboards, guitars, and unusual production. Titles include "The City", "Come On", "We Were All Uprooted", "A Song", "Watch Out", "Sunny Earth", and "Ritual". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of Capitol Records classics from Nancy Wilson – back to back with bonus tracks too! On Today My Way, Nancy Wilson takes on the sound of today – circa 1965 – singing her versions of songs by a host of other female singers of the time, and blowing away most of them in the process! Wilson is the consummate portrait of soul and class throughout – working well well-balanced arrangements that are mostly from Sid Feller, plus a few more from Oliver Nelson – often with a mix of syncopated rhythms and strings that echo Bacharach a bit, but which are much better fitted to Nancy's personal style! Titles include "Reach Out For Me", "Dear Heart", "Welcome Welcome", "I'm All Smiles", "Don't Come Running Back To Me", and "Take What I Have". Nancy Naturally is a great one from Nancy Wilson – a set that has the singer working with full arrangements from Billy May, who's got this surprisingly subtle approach at times that works really well with the soulful currents in Nancy's vocals! The approach is almost more like Oliver Nelson, especially with the bluesier currents that May brings into the horns at points – and the album scores equally well on the groovers and the more slinky numbers that are especially wonderful – almost an update of an earlier Dakota Staton mode, but a bit more hip – as we'd expect from Wilson! Titles include "Watch What Happens", "Smack Dab In The Middle", "I Wish I Didn't Love You So", "In The Dark", and "Ten Years Of Tears". CD features 6 bonus tracks too – including "Be True To Me", "Go Away", "The Power Of Love", "That Special Way", "Afterthoughts", and "Where Does That Leave Me". CD

The amazing first album from Big Star – a set that came out of nowhere, made hardly a ripple on the charts, yet went onto crash in big waves of sound for generations to come! The style here is unlike thing else before – hardly what you'd expect from the group's Memphis roots or Alex Chilton's previous performances – yet the group's music has become a generation-defining sound in the way it blends southern inflections with harder rock influences, and a lean, gritty quality that's arguably in a late 70s space between punk and power pop. Every element is wonderful – guitars that are powerful, but never indulgent – vocals that are moving, but never overly emotive – and a balance between sensitive and searing moments that even The Replacements could never hope to match. A landmark all the way through – with tracks that include "Feel", "Ballad Of El Goodo", "In The Street", "The India Song", "When My Baby's Beside Me", "Give Me Another Chance", "Don't Lie To Me", "Thirteen", "Watch The Sunrise", and "Try Again". LP, Vinyl record album

Ruben Blades steps out here in a mix of modes – tracks from both his Swing and Salsa Plus albums, and like those cuts, done in collaboration with the group of Robert Delgado – the bassist whose arrangements really help the record soar! Ruben's vocals are wonderful – somehow even better with age, and still commanding all the power of the past – and the rest of the group has the right balance of jazzy horn work and Latin currents in the rhythms to really help set the mood. Titles include "Mambo Gil", "Watch What Happens", "Pennies From Heaven", "Paula C", "Do I Hear Four", "Cobarde", and "The Way You Look Tonight". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite David Bowie albums ever! Aladdin Sane was a real turning point for Bowie – recorded on the heels of the tremendously popular Ziggy Stardust album, but really pushing the boundaries past the more straight-ahead rock and glam of that record. Instead of just sitting on his laurels, Bowie tripped out into a wilder, weirder world with this one – mixing together elements of some of the baroque arrangements of early records, with the meaner leaner sound of the 70s – populating the songs with freaks, weirdos, and odd characters that gave the whole thing a really creepy edge. The whole thing's an oft-overlooked gem that, to us, is truly one of Bowie's most magical moments – and titles include "Drive In Saturday", "Panic In Detroit", "Aladdin Sane", "Watch That Man", "The Jean Genie", "The Prettiest Star", "Time", and "Lady Grinning Soul". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible version of one of our favorite David Bowie albums ever! Aladdin Sane was a real turning point for Bowie – recorded on the heels of the tremendously popular Ziggy Stardust album, but really pushing the boundaries past the more straight-ahead rock and glam of that record. Instead of just sitting on his laurels, Bowie tripped out into a wilder, weirder world with this one – mixing together elements of some of the baroque arrangements of early records, with the meaner leaner sound of the 70s – populating the songs with freaks, weirdos, and odd characters that gave the whole thing a really creepy edge. The whole thing's an oft-overlooked gem that, to us, is truly one of Bowie's most magical moments – and it's finally given its due here, in a beautiful 2CD package that features a whole disc worth of bonus material, plus a hard book-like cover, and a big booklet of goodies! Original titles include "Drive In Saturday", "Panic In Detroit", "Aladdin Sane", "Watch That Man", "The Jean Genie", "The Prettiest Star", "Time", and "Lady Grinning Soul" – and bonus tracks include "John I'm Only Dancing (sax version)", "Time (single edit)", "All The Young Dudes", and live recordings of "Drive In Saturday", "Life On Mars", "John I'm Only Dancing", and "Jean Genie". CD

A real breakthrough album for George Duke – one of his earliest for the Epic label, and an album that took him from the space funk underground to the top of the jazz charts! The album's got a great sound that mixes together all of Duke's influences – Latin rhythms, electric keyboard funk, and some of the freer jamming styles he picked up in the Bay Area scene – and he's joined here by strong crossover fusion players like Ndugu Chancler, Raul De Souza, and Stanley Clarke, all of whom help him forge a groove that's nice and tight. Includes the hit title track "Reach For It", plus the cuts "The End", "Diamonds", "Watch Out Baby", "Lemme At It", "Just For You", "Omi", and "Searchin My Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

Mean, lean grooves from The Gap Band – a legendary batch of mainstream funk from the end of the 70s – and a record that really has the trio working at the top of their game! There's a wonderful balance here between funky numbers and mellow ones – the latter of which really help pace the record nicely, giving it a depth that takes the group way beyond the cliches of some of their contemporaries, and firmly establishing the Gap Band as one to watch for the 80s! Titles include the massive "I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up & Dance" – with its classic "Oops Upside Your Head" refrain – plus "Who Do You Call", "No Hiding Place", "Steppin Out", "You Are My High", and "Party Lights". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful stuff – and one of our favorite-ever Marvin Gaye albums! This is the legendary two-record set that Marvin wrote and recorded as an alimony payment to his ex-wife Anna Gordy (the story's pretty long, and we won't get into it here – suffice it to say that when stars get a divorce, watch out!) Although the album was thought of as a no-brainer quickie at the time – and predicted to fail so that Anna wouldn't get any cash from it – the record is an extremely well-crafted one, filled with extremely personal songs that also have a warm soulful finish, in the style of Marvin's work on the LP I Want You (which is kind of a nice bookend to this one – as it was an extended love poem to the young girlfriend that caused him to split up with Anna!) Hard and soulful, the record's a searing testimony to the relationship between Marvin and Anna, and a painful document of the troubles between them – set to some mellow grooves that are easily some of Marvin's greatest of the 70s! The set's filled with great "lost" Marvin Gay songs, too – like "Sparrow", "When Did You Stop Loving Me", "Anger", "You Can Leave, But It's Going To Cost You", and "Time to Get it Together". CD

Guru's second foray into the jazz/rap crossover world, with a huge amount of guest stars, and a little bit less of Guru. In parts, it actually seems to work better than the first one. Why? Because there's not as much of a forced effort to bring jazz and rap together in an obvious way, which leaves guests like Ramsey Lewis, Jamiroquai, Ronny Jordan, Donald Byrd, Kool Keith, Reuben Wilson, Bernard Purdie, and The Solsonics more room to do their thing. Includes "Lifesaver", "Looking Through The Darkness", " Respect The Architect", "Choice Of Weapons", "Count The Blessings", "Lost Souls", "Watch What You Say", and more. CD

Early solo work – with titles that include "The Man Who Invented Himself", "Brenda's Iron Sledge", "Do Policemen Sing", "The Lizard", "Acid Bird", "Meat", "Out Of The Picture", "Love", "City Of Shame", and "I Watch The Cars". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive third helping of rare Motown soul – filled with just as many obscure moments and unreleased gems as the previous two volumes! Even if you're a Motown completist enough to buy those giant Complete Singles volumes, you'll still find plenty here to love – because this UK-only series really digs deep into the Motown vaults, and proves that there's a tremendous amount of great music that never saw the light of day back in the 60s! The overall style is strongly in the Northern Soul mode – no surprise, given the British origin of the set – but even with that tight focus, the range of music here is really wonderful, and includes a great amount of work by lesser stars in the Motown galaxy. All tracks are presented with full notes on the original recording date – and the 2CD package features a whopping 43 tracks that include "You're Walking Out With My Heart" by Brenda Holloway, "This Love Will Never Die" by The Miracles, "At The Go Go" by Stevie Wonder, "I'm In Love Again" by Shorty Long, "Easier Said Than Done" by Dennis Edwards, "Never Give You Up" by Blinky & Edwin Starr, "A Chance With You" by Marvin Gaye, "Watch Your Step" by Mike Varo, "Come Back My Love" by The Temptations, "Too Young Too Long" by Carolyn Crawford, "SOS Girl In Distress" by Marv Johnson, "Thief Of Love" by Oma Page, "Loving You" by Fantastic Four, "Just Too Much" by The Monitors, "Little Girls Grow Up" by The Marvelettes, "Don't Stop Loving Me" by Ivy Jo, "Soldier Of Love" by The Four Tops, "I'm Here Now That You Need Me" by JJ Barnes, "Beware Of A Stranger" by Rita Wright, "Cindy" by Bobby Taylor, and "Too Late I Learned" by The Spinners. CD

One of our favorite David Bowie albums ever! Aladdin Sane was a real turning point for Bowie – recorded on the heels of the tremendously popular Ziggy Stardust album, but really pushing the boundaries past the more straight-ahead rock and glam of that record. Instead of just sitting on his laurels, Bowie tripped out into a wilder, weirder world with this one – mixing together elements of some of the baroque arrangements of early records, with the meaner leaner sound of the 70s – populating the songs with freaks, weirdos, and odd characters that gave the whole thing a really creepy edge. The whole thing's an oft-overlooked gem that, to us, is truly one of Bowie's most magical moments – and titles include "Drive In Saturday", "Panic In Detroit", "Aladdin Sane", "Watch That Man", "The Jean Genie", "The Prettiest Star", "Time", and "Lady Grinning Soul". LP, Vinyl record album

Brass Construction's fifth album, and the group's still grooving harder than most of their contemporaries! The legendary Randy Muller is still fully in charge here – serving up his trademark lean, mean arrangements that compress all elements of the music firmly on the beat – all in a way that creates one of the funkiest grooves you'll ever hear in mainstream late 70s club! There's plenty of great little touches to keep each tune interesting – bits of strings, keyboards, or other elements that burst out of the mix playfully . Titles include "It's Alright", "Watch Out", "I Want Some Action", "Right Place", "Music Makes You Feel Like Dancing", and "Shakit". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully icy vocals from the amazing Chris Connor – the kind of record that set a new standard for vocal jazz back in the 50s! The session's a small group one – with Chris singing intimately alongside backing from Herbie Mann on flute and tenor, Kai Winding and JJ Johnson on trombones, Joe Puma on guitar, and Ralph Sharon on piano – all lightly arranged to allow Connor's vocals prime placement in the record, while shading in the spaces with some nicely modern colors. Titles are mostly familiar, but wonderfully transformed into Connor's own personal statements – and tracks include "Ridin High", "It's All Right With Me", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart", "All This & Heaven Too", "Trouble Is a Man", "Blame It On My Youth", and "The Thrill Is Gone". CD

A wonderfully free-thinking set by Kenny Dorham – and a record that really breaks from his earlier work! The album's not exactly experimental, but it features longer tracks with a looser approach than some of Dorham's sweeter shorter work – more in a rhythmically progressive mode that lets the soloists carve out their own space in the set. Joe Henderson joins Kenny on the frontline, and the rest of the group includes Tommy Flanagan on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Albert Heath on drums. All titles are originals, with some great modernist inflections, especially in the changes – and titles include "The Fox", "Mamacita", "Tropeta Toccata", and "Night Watch". CD

A hugely expanded version of the classic double live album by Ella Fitzgerald – featuring a total of 48 tracks in all, recorded over 2 nights at a French jazz festival in 1964, with backing by a group that includes Roy Eldridge and Tommy Flanagan. More than half of the set appears to be previously unissued – and the whole thing's packaged in a wonderful wraparound cover, with great art and notes, and new remastering on the CD. Titles include "Day In Day Out", "Just A Sittin & A Rockin", "People", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Boy From Ipanema", "The Cricket Song", "Perdido", "Summertime", "The Lady Is A Tramp", "I Love Being Here With You", "Goody Goody", "Cutie Pants", and "Mack The Knife". Some of the cuts repeat over the course of the performance, but they're done in slightly different versions. CD

Early 80s clubby funk & soul from Freeez – a pretty sweet mix of period synth and boogie soul with far richer, live instrumentation and solid, hooky songwriting! Freeez recorded Gonna Get You in Manhattan – and you can certainly hear the NYC culture of the time flowing nicely in the groove. The songs are really good, and catchy enough to have caught on a much bigger level – with male and female lead and chorus backing vocals, and the synths and drum machines pulse and thump underneath congas, bongos and other percussion, Rhodes, piano and other elements. Includes "We've Got The Juice", "Can't Keep My Love", "Love's Gonna Get You", "Pop Goes My Love", "IOU", "Freezin'", "Can You", "Watch Me" and "Gonna Get You (Megamix)" – the 13 minute closer of disc 1. Disc 2 features 13 bonus tracks: "IOU (7" Version)", "We Got The Jazz", "Scratch Goes My Dub (7" Version)", "Love's Gonna Get You (7" Version)", "IOU – Megamix", "A Capella U" and more. CD

Another pretty great set from Dobie, and actually with a bit less of a country soul feel and a bigger, more freewheeling sound overall – some big horn section- backed tunes, to grittier soul, to more laidback numbers. Includes "Hey Dixie", "How Can You Live All Alone", "Watch Out For Lucy", "Roll On Sweet Mississippi", Allen Toussaint's "Performance" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A really great solo set from Kipper Jones – previously in the group Thrust, but maybe even better here as a lead act on his own! The record was really slept on at the time, but it's definitely in the stronger side of mainstream soul of the period – new jack beats on many cuts, but a richer sort of songwriting than most, with surprisingly positive vibes that really draw plenty from Kipper's great vocal approach too! The man himself produced most of the album – and titles include "Poor Elaine", "My House", "Ordinary Story", "Trust", "Consider Me Yours", "Cut Me No Slack", "Watch Over Me", and "Shock Wave". CD

An excellent overview of Peggy Lee's magical years at Capitol Records – featuring tracks from her initial Capitol stretch of the late 40s and early 50s – and lots more work from her later stretch of famous 60s singles and albums! The set features 113 tracks in all, plus a biography of Peggy, and notes on all the songs. The mood ranges from upbeat and swinging to mellow and moody – and just a few of the selections include "Watch What Happens", "I Love Being Here With You", "The Glory Of Love", "Close Your Eyes", "Again", "Do I Love You", "Bill", "That's All", "There'll Be Another Spring", "Stormy Weather", "Them There Eyes", "Chi Bab Chi Baba", and "Alright Okay You Win". CD

A stone laidback set from O'Donel Levy – one of the greatest soul jazz guitarists of the 70s, and a player who sounds fresher and fresher to us over the years! This album's a bit more laidback than some of Levy's other sets for Groove Merchant – with larger arrangements that feature Charles Covington on electric piano and organ, Fats Theus on tenor and flute, and Billy Skinner on trumpet – but the approach actually works well, as the slow-moving tracks trip out over a lot of space, giving O'Donel plenty of room to craft his uniquely spacious and chromatic solos. Titles include versions of "Watch What Happens", "Love Story", "Call Me", "You've Made Me So Very Happy", and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time", plus the originals "Granny" and "Nature's Child", both of which have a nice little groove! CD

A well-titled set – as the album features some of the best early sides that Little Walter recorded for Chess – records that went on to set a whole new standard both in blues vocals and harmonica! There's tightness here that's a bit different from some of the other Chess blues at the time – a quality that's almost a be pre-soul at moments, despite the obvious blues bent of the set. The album features some great liner notes from Studs Terkel – really getting at the scene of which Walter was a part – and titles include "My Babe", "Sad Hours", "Can't Hold Out Much Longer", "Blues With A Feeling", "Juke", "Mean Old World", "Blue Lights", "You Better Watch Yourself", and "Tell Me Mamma". CD features 3 bonus tracks – alternates of "Last Night", "Juke", and "Off The Wall". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty nice little 2LP set – put together in the early 70s, and featuring material that Walter recorded for Chess during the 60s. As the title would imply, there's a lot of harmonica on the album – but Walter's vocals should also be given their due, as they're a bit more in the soul mode than some of his Chicago blues contemporaries. Titles include "Last Night", "My Babe", "Sad Hours", "Blues With Feeling", "Off The Wall", "Juke", "Mean Old World", "I Got To Go", "Shake Dancer", "Thunderbird", "Ah'W Baby", "Too Late", "Boom Boom Out Go The Lights", "You Better Watch Yourself", and "Blue Lights". LP, Vinyl record album

A righteous set of lovers rock from the Love Joys – a female duo, as you might guess from the cover – but one who work here with a wonderfully deep sound! This isn't the crossover material you might hear from other artists of this nature – as there's a very tough-edged presentation to the whole thing – echoey, dubby rhythms recorded at Wackies, with some especially splashy drums next to the nodding basslines – allowing lots of space that has the vocals echoing out in space as they trade back and forth – in a way that's quite different from more familiar harmony modes. Titles include "Stranger Get Up", "All I Can Say", "Watch Them", "How Long", "Love Is Not A Game", "Jah Light", "Studio Man", "Wherever Jah Send Me", and "Are You ready". CD

A record that no hip hop home should be without – the debut album from Main Source, but a set that's more than strong enough to stand next to the best from contemporaries like De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, and Black Sheep! Like all three of those groups, these guys have a way of bringing together fresh rhythms and samples, sharp-edged writing, and a keen sense of wit – all part of that next-generation level of intellectual hip hop that made them so groundbreaking at the time – and which still makes this album a fantastic delight all these many years later! The album introduced the world to the genius of Large Professor – and continues to shine for decades, thanks to tunes that include "Snake Eyes", "Looking At The Front Door", "Live At The Barbecue", "Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball", "Peace Is Not The Word To Play", "Watch Roger Do His Thang", "He Got So Much Soul (He Don't Need No Music)", and "Just Hangin Out". CD

Three full albums from Johnny Mathis in one single set – the last of which was actually issued originally as a 2LP set! First up is Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head – great magic from Johnny Mathis at the start of the 70s – a set that has Johnny working through some groovier tunes from the second end of the 60s – all set to some mighty nice backings from Ernie Freeman! Ernie brings in a fair bit of strings, but also gives things that soulful punch at the bottom that you'll know from his 60s material – and the Mathis vocal maybe is a bit more crisp in the setting, although still with that wonderfully full range that always made the man so unique! Titles include great versions of "Watch What Happens", "Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head", "Midnight Cowboy", "Everybody's Talkin", "Jean", "Odds & Ends", and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Close To You has Johnny Mathis kicking off with his take on the Burt Bacharach title hit, then moving through a number of other late 60s hits – some of which are perfect for the Mathis style, others of which make for a mighty nice stretch – and we mean that in the best way possible! There's some backing elements here that are groovier than usual for Johnny – pushing him in a nice way with modes that seem a bit borrowed from sunshine pop and soul – on titles that include "Come Saturday Morning", "Evil Ways", "Yellow Days", "The Long & Winding Road", "Wave", and "Pieces Of Dreams". In Person is double-length live set from Johnny Mathis – recorded live in person in Las Vegas – with titles that include a fair number of medley tracks that are a nice change from his studio records – the kind of material that really allows Johnny to show his talents as an entertainer in a live setting! There's also some non-medley tracks 6too – including "And Her Mother Came Too", "Maria", "If We Only Have Love", "I Got Love", "Day In Day Out", "Come Runnin", "In The Morning", and "Love Story". CD

Groove away, maestro! Incontro is a splendid score by Morricone – early 70s groovy, mixing guitar, electric harpischord, organ, and other jangly instrumentation on the best tracks, alternating with mellower, dreamier numbers on the others, serving up a sweet blend of tunes that once again makes us wish we could watch the film, just to hear the music! This one's got the flavor of his best from the time – like La Donna Invisible – even though it's perhaps not as all-out overly composed – and titles include "Patrizia", "Incontro", "Scherzo Un Po Triste", "Per Claudia", "Passeggiata", and "Riflessione". CD

A beautiful pairing of Oscar Peterson and Stephane Grappelli – two artists who'd recorded together before, but who sound especially nice in this live setting! The group's a quintet – with the guitar of Joe Pass, bass of Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, and drums of Mickey Roker – but many moments feature these open passages where Peterson or Grappelli dominate – the latter of whom is fluid and swinging in a way we don't always hear this well. Titles include "Nuages", "That's All", "Skol Blues", "How About You", and "Someone To Watch Over Me". CD features three previously unissued bonus tracks from the same performance – "Solitude", "Honeysuckle Rose", and "I Got Rhythm". CD

Some of the hippest Max Roach work of the 60s – issued here professionally for the first time in years! The first tracks in the set are from a concert in Paris, with Max's group that included Tommy & Stanley Turrentine, as well as Julian Priester. The tracks are long and open-ended – with an approach that you wouldn't find on the group's Mercury sides from the time – and two Roach originals in particular – "Kardouba" and "Stop Motion" – are especially great, and have the Turrentines stretching out in a soul jazz searching mode that's quite different than their Blue Note work. This approach is continued strongly in the set – which features Clifford Jordan on tenor, Coleridge Parkinson on piano, and Abbey Lincoln on some vocals – all recorded at an unknown location in 1961. Again, the Roach originals – especially "This Night Mountain" and "Ceciliana" – are the tunes to watch – but there's also some great other work, including "Jordu", "Who Will Buy", and "Love For Sale". CD

A great package of music from singer Joanie Sommers – none of which has ever been on CD before! At the core of the record is the album Come Alive – really groovy work from singer Sommers – an overlooked gem recorded after her initial albums for Warner Brothers, and put together with some mighty cool arrangements from the great Mort Garson! Joanie's lost all her little girl pop modes here – and instead really comes across with the adult charm of a jazz singer – reaching out with some surprisingly deep tones on the mellower cuts, and showing a great sense of swing on the groovers – all at a mode that really takes her past the style of the early years! Mort's backings are great – as rich in jazzy tones as someone like Marty Paich, but also touched with some of the unusual inflections that always make Garson's music so great. Tracks include "I'm All Smiles", "Girl Talk", "You'd Better Love Me", "You Take What Comes Along", "Watch What Happens", "Too Late Now", and "Sunday In New York". Added to the core album are 12 more bonus tracks, some of which were singles, some never issued, and one a rare Pepsi commercial! Bonus cuts include "Love Song", "Never Never", "Alfie", "Never Throw Your Dreams Away", "Come Alive (Pepsi jingle)", and "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". CD

Landmark harmony soul from The Stylistics – a set that's every bit as wonderful as their debut, with the kind of sweet, soulful sound that got played over and over and over and over again back in the day! The album's got a subtle sort of power, though – one that lies not only in its classic cover image, but also in the way that the group mix up the fragile themes of love with some deeper aspects of the human condition – heard to best effect on the classic "Children Of The Night" – a massive 7 minute number that stands nicely next to the shorter singles. Thom Bell produced and arranged the whole thing to Philly perfection – with lots of help from Linda Creed on the songwriting – and titles include "Children of the Night", "Break Up To Make Up", "You'll Never Get To Heaven", "Stone In Love With You", "It's Too Late", "If You Don't Watch Out", and "Peek A Boo". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "No Depression", "Screen Door", "Graveyard Shift", "Whiskey Bottle", "Outdone (1989 Demo)", "I Got Drunk", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "Gun", "Still Be Around", "Looking For A Way Out (Acoustic Version)", "Watch Me Fall", "Sauget Wind", "Black Eye", "Moonshiner", "Fatal Wound", "Grindstone", "Effigy", "The Long Cut", "Chickamauga", "New Madrid", and "We've Been Had (Live)". CD

More classic blues than you could hope to shake a stick at – a 2CD set that features 50 tunes from Muddy's famous years at Chess Records! The set's brimming over with good stuff – classic and obscure numbers alike, going way past a simple "greatest hits" set. Titles include "Long Distance Call", "Evan's Shuffle", "Appealing Blues", "Rollin Stone", "Sad Letter Blues", "Kind Hearted Woman", "I Can't Be Satisfied", "Mean Disposition", "Good Lookin Woman", "Little Geneva", "Canary Bird", "Rollin & Tumblin (parts 1 & 2)", "Lonesome Day", "Stuff You Gotta Watch", and "All Night Long". CD

Rare work from the early years of soul music – and a special set that focuses on sounds created in and around Los Angeles – a city that's not nearly as well known for 60s soul as Chicago, Detroit, or New Orleans! Yet during the postwar years, LA had just as much going on as those eastern cities – a huge new population influx, who'd move over from the south during the wartime years – and new labels that had cropped up to capture their sounds and serve their audience! 50s LA was already humming with R&B material, which gave the rising styles of soul plenty of places to get recorded – so much so, that there's even some work on this set that was never issued at the time! The vibe is great – similar to other Birth Of Soul sets from Ace/Kent – in that the music carries a bit of R&B and blues bite from earlier years, mixed with more romping and tighter soul styles – in a smoking set list of 24 tracks that include "But What About My Broken Heart" by Don Wyatt, "Everybody's Got A Lover But Me" by Richard Berry, "Have You Heard" by The Vows, "With These Hands" by The Wonders, "You Better Watch Out Girl" by The Imperialites, "Lose My Cool" by Ike & Tina Turner, "Let Him Walk Away" by Darlene Love, "My Pillow" by The Numbers, "Help Me With My Broken Heart" by Sylvester Stewart, "That Other Guy" by The Mandarins, "Don't Drop It" by The Question Marks, and "Young Lover" by Wilks & Wilkerson. CD

Funky genius from the legendary Stax studios! During the 60s, Stax was well known for their work in the soul music field – turning out hit singles by the likes of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others – but after 1968, when the label finished their deal with Atlantic, they really started getting down and dirty, and hitting on all burners in the funk department. This tasty set features 21 tracks from those exiting years –many of them only ever issued on singles, and a few of them by some of the label's more famous LP artists – but all of them with a nice Memphis funky groove! Titles include "Turn Your Damper Down" by Rufus Thomas, "Broadway Freeze" by Harvey Scales, "Life Is Funky" by Round Robin Monopoly, "The Dryer" by Roy Lee Johnson, "She's My Old Lady Too" by Lee Sain, "Slipped & Tripped" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Brothers & Sisters" by Kim Weston, "Movin Dancer" by Bobby Holley, "Eli's Pork Chop" by Little Sonny, "A Man Never Knows" by Chris & Shack, "Grab A Handful" by Art Jerry Miller, "I'll Kill A Brick (About My Man)" by Hot Sauce, "Watch The Dog That Brings The Bone" by Inez Foxx, "Sock Soul" by The Bar Kays, and "Getting Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty! CD

A great take on the sound of Hollywood – one that comes from a host of classic instrumental albums of the 50s and 60s – most of which feature new versions of famous soundtrack themes! Many of the cuts here are decidedly leaner, and almost hipper, than the originals – and the compositions run from the best crime/thriller years of the 50s – up to the coolest late 60s styles, including some of the more European-influenced ones. 18 tracks in all – including "Your Zowie Face" by Nelson Riddle, "Moon River" by Henry Jerome, "Barbarella" by Ferrante & Teicher, "Beat Girl" by John Barry, "Theme From The Apartment" by Tito Rodriguez, "Cool" by Martin Denny, "You Gotta Taste All The Fruit" by Leroy Holmes, "A Man & A Woman/Live For Life" by Billy May, "Experiment In Terrory" by Al Caiola, and "Watch What Happens" by Denny McLain. CD

A very different album than usual from Jan Akkerman – but in a really nice way! The album's not nearly as guitar-heavy and rock-leaning as some of Jan's other sets from the 70s – and has a bubbling sort of soul-based finish, one that's arranged by Akkerman with some help from Mike Gibbs – and which almost has a funky dancefloor appeal at times! The jazz component of the record is still relatively strong, in a tripped-out funky fusion way – but there's enough of a consistent pulse to the album to really keep things on track nicely! Includes the spacey "Pavane", which has great keyboards from Joachim Kuhn, and the nicely breaking "Streetwalker" – plus the cuts "Angel Watch", "Crackers", "Skydancer", "Floatin", and "Gate To Europe". LP, Vinyl record album

A warm little live set from Andy Bey – quite possibly one of the most personal and unassuming albums of his recent comeback career! The set's a trio one, recorded at the end of the 90s – and it features Andy on both vocals and piano, plus Peter Washington on bass, and either Kenny Washington or Vito Lesczak on drums. There's an upfront, righteous quality to most tunes here – a style that reminds us a lot of Nina Simone's best live work in a similarly stripped-down setting – and although all tunes are standards, Andy really takes off with them wonderfully – bringing a whole new sense of spirit and meaning that we wouldn't expect! Titles include "All The Things You Are", "Hey Love", "Ain't Necessarily So", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", "On Second Thought", "Brother Can You Spare A Dime", and "Someone To Watch Over Me". CD

The amazing first album from Big Star – a set that came out of nowhere, made hardly a ripple on the charts, yet went onto crash in big waves of sound for generations to come! The style here is unlike thing else before – hardly what you'd expect from the group's Memphis roots or Alex Chilton's previous performances – yet the group's music has become a generation-defining sound in the way it blends southern inflections with harder rock influences, and a lean, gritty quality that's arguably in a late 70s space between punk and power pop. Every element is wonderful – guitars that are powerful, but never indulgent – vocals that are moving, but never overly emotive – and a balance between sensitive and searing moments that even The Replacements could never hope to match. A landmark all the way through – with tracks that include "Feel", "Ballad Of El Goodo", "In The Street", "The India Song", "When My Baby's Beside Me", "Give Me Another Chance", "Don't Lie To Me", "Thirteen", "Watch The Sunrise", and "Try Again". CD

The 2 great albums by Big Star – back-to-back on CD! #1 Record is simply one of the best rock albums of the 70s – partly remembered as a defining moment in power pop, but to us there's a depth of emotion here that goes way beyond chords and choruses, and sinks into our very souls every time we listen to it! Indespensible Memphis rock, to say the very least. Titles include "Feel", "Ballad Of El Goodo", "In The Street", "The India Song", "When My Baby's Beside Me", "Give Me Another Chance", "Watch The Sunrise" and more. Radio City is also one of 70s rock's finest moments. With Chris Bell out of the picture, one could successfully argue the traits that it lacks from the first album, but this thing stands up as work of genius all its own – with a raw, shambling immediacy to the songs that cut incredibly deep. Amazing stuff all around – totally indispensable! Titles include "O My Soul", "Life Is White", "Way Out West", "You Get What You Deserve", "Mod Lang", "She's A Mover", "Morpha Too", "I'm In Love With A Girl". CD

Tracks include "They Heard I Got Life", "Watch Your Movements", "Star In Da Hood", "She's A Pro", "Ready", "BLACK", "When You Come Home", "You Know What" feat louis Farrakhan, "Ya'll Know Who Killed Him" feat Notorious BIG, "Warrior", "Team", "Help Me Out", and "The Verdict". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite David Bowie albums ever! Aladdin Sane was a real turning point for Bowie – recorded on the heels of the tremendously popular Ziggy Stardust album, but really pushing the boundaries past the more straight-ahead rock and glam of that record. Instead of just sitting on his laurels, Bowie tripped out into a wilder, weirder world with this one – mixing together elements of some of the baroque arrangements of early records, with the meaner leaner sound of the 70s – populating the songs with freaks, weirdos, and odd characters that gave the whole thing a really creepy edge. The whole thing's an oft-overlooked gem that, to us, is truly one of Bowie's most magical moments – and titles include "Drive In Saturday", "Panic In Detroit", "Aladdin Sane", "Watch That Man", "The Jean Genie", "The Prettiest Star", "Time", and "Lady Grinning Soul". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little overview of work by Donald Byrd for the Savoy label in the 50s – a set that mostly features material from his one Savoy side as a leader, plus some bonus tracks! The core of the set is from the Byrd's Word date, recorded in 1955 – one of Donald's earliest sessions as a leader, and a hard and heavy all-star set that features a quintet with Frank Foster on tenor, Hank Jones on piano, Kenny Clarke on drums, and Dave Chambers on bass. The tracks all are long and have that almost-blowing session Savoy approach – free and easy, and a very different style that Byrd's more composed work with Gigi Gryce from the same time. Titles include "Star Eyes", "Long Green", "Winterset", and "Someone To Watch Over Me". The remaining 2 tracks on the CD – "Honeylike" and "Orpheus" – are both from a 1957 album recorded with John Jenkins on alto sax – the great Jazz Eyes session, which featured additional work from Curtis Fuller on trombone and Tommy Flanagan on piano. CD

The last album that Crow would ever give the world, and a great capper to their short by strong run of records in the early 70s! Like so many of the harder-edged American rock groups of the time, these guys have moved completely past the blues that inspired their initial sounds – working out plenty of their own inflections on guitar and organ, at a level that's never slavish at all to the roots – and which instead really serves to provide the perfect polish for the nicely sinister vocals on the set! Titles include "Easy Street", "Sky Is Crying", "Watch That Cat", "Watching Can Waste Up The Time", "Yellow Dawg", "Satisfied", and "Let's Not Say Goodbye" – the prophetic last song on the record. LP, Vinyl record album

A deep soul treasure! You've probably never heard of the team of Eddie & Ernie, but they've risen to fame over the years with collectors of rare 60s soul – and have recently been immortalized on volumes of Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures, one of the most important soul compilation series to come out in the past decade or so! In fact, Eddie & Ernie's tracks on the set have drawn such interest over the years that Dave's finally pulled together 24 of the pair's rare tracks from the 60s – sublime soul duets recorded for labels that include Columbia, Eastern, Chess, Artco, and Revue – a brilliant blend of deep and sweet soul that makes us wonder why these guys were never bigger than they were. Think of the set as the same as finding a stash of some of the best 60s soul singles you could hope to hear, and get ready for a great discovery that will have you coming back to the CD again and again! Titles include "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do", "You Make My Life A Sunny Day", "A Man To Love A Woman", "Lost Friends", "I'm Gonna Always Love You", "Standing At The Crossroads", "The Groove She Put Me In", "Watch Your Step", "Bullets Don't Have Eyes", "We Try Harder", and "Outcast". CD

Includes the songs "Green Eyes", "Let Me Off Uptown", "Kick It!", "After You've Gone", "Rockin' Chair", "Armour", "Stop! The Red Light's On", "Watch The Birdie", "The Walls Keep Talking", "Skylark", "Bolero At The Savoy", "Thanks For The Boogie Ride", "Keep 'Em Flying", "Pass The Bounce", "Ball Of Fire", "Harlem On Parade", "Knock Me A Kiss", "Barrelhouse Bessie From Basin Street", "That Drummer's Band", "Murder He Says", "Bop Boogie", "Watch Out", "Swiss Lullaby", and "Why Fall In Love With A Stranger". CD

Massive music in a wonderful package – three funky classics from The Gap Band! First up is the group's self-titled album from 1979 – the start of the legendary second chapter for the Gap Band – the point when the group had reemerged as the tight funky trio of the Wilson Brothers, with a groove that would really set them up nicely for the 80s! This first album in the new format has a wonderfully tight feel – still plenty of sharp edges that echo their earlier groove, but a leaner quality too – one that's got the bass and drums snapping together wonderfully, really setting the tone for the heaviest grooves. There's also a few mellower cuts too – which really sound great, and give the record the same sort of balance you might hear on work by Heaven & Earth at the time. War's Lonnie Simmons produced – and held the cash bag all the way to the bank! Titles include "I'm In Love", "Got To Get Away", "Messin With My Mind", "Shake", "Baby Baba Boogie", "Open Your Mind Wide", and "I Can Sing". Gap Band II features mean, lean grooves from The Gap Band – a legendary batch of mainstream funk from the end of the 70s – and a record that really has the trio working at the top of their game! There's a wonderful balance here between funky numbers and mellow ones – the latter of which really help pace the record nicely, giving it a depth that takes the group way beyond the cliches of some of their contemporaries, and firmly establishing the Gap Band as one to watch for the 80s! Titles include the massive "I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up & Dance" – with its classic "Oops Upside Your Head" refrain – plus "Who Do You Call", "No Hiding Place", "Steppin Out", "You Are My High", and "Party Lights". Gap Band III is sagreat one from the Gap Band – funky gems and sinister groovers – the best of both worlds for the group! Tunes like "Burn Rubber On Me (When You Want To Hurt Me)" and "Humpin" packed 80s dance floors for good reason, and put the band in steady rotation, while numbers like "Yearning For Your Love" showed the band could drop the tempo, stretch out a bit, and deliver the mighty mellow. This one's certainly at the top of the heap of 80s groovers, as far as we're concerned – a record that really took the Gap Band over the top! Other tracks include "Nothin' Comes To The Sleepers", "Are You Living", "The Way", "Gash Gash Gash" and more. CD

An unusual 70s album from Herbie Hancock – first in that it was only issued in Japan at the time, and second in that it was an all-acoustic set that came out at a time when Herbie was mostly working in an electric mode! Yet that previous work definitely informs the sound here – as there's a sense of flow to the piano that certainly comes from all the work that Herbie had been doing on keyboards – a lightly funky current at times, and a nicely open, stretched-out vibe on the tracks! The trio is great – with Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums – and titles include a great remake of "Speak Like A Child", plus "Watch It", "Look", "Milestones", and "Whatcha Waitin For". All tracks are long, and the record's got a nice sweet mellow vibe! CD

Some of the hippest American work of the 70s by vocalist Johnny Hartman – smooth, sophisticated, and with a groove that's almost somewhat different than his more famous records of the decade before! Hartman's captured here in a live setting that's intimate, but never too sleepy or standard – warmly relaxed with backing from a trio that includes Reggie Moore on piano and Bill English on bass – and recorded with some great between-songs patter from Johnny, showing a charm that goes even beyond his studio sides. Titles include "On Green Dolphin Street", "Didn't We", "Watch What Happens", "Help Me Make It Through The Night", "Bidin My Time", "If", "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", "I've Got To Be Me", "Blues", and "Lush Life". CD also features 8 bonus tracks – recorded live in Tokyo in 1977 with Roland Hanna on piano and George Mraz on bass – on titles that include "Send In The Clowns", "My Foolish Heart", "On A Clear Day", "Summertime", and "The Way We Were". CD

New music from the legendary Headhunters – that crucial 70s funk combo who grew out of their role working with Herbie Hancock to become one of our favorite groups of that decade! Years later, they still sound pretty darn wonderful too – altered a bit in terms of the lineup, and slightly shifted in sound – but in the best way possible, so that they're not just rehashing the old days, and are instead exploring new territory – maybe even jazzier than on their famous albums for Arista from back in the day, and arguably even better here on the Ropeadope label than some of their other records in recent years. The drums of Mike Clark are rock-solid throughout, and augmented by the percussion of Bill Summers, who also plays a bit of keyboards – as does Stephen Gordon, who handles Fender Rhodes and piano – while Donald Harrison serves up all sorts of great alto solos throughout! Titles include "Kongo Square", "Actual Proof", "Stop Watch", "HH 75", "Vaspurakan", and "Over The Bar". CD

Jefferson Airplane's weirder follow-up to Surrealistic Pillow – and a pretty incredible record – concentrating their sprawling psychedelic impulses into fairly succinct 3 to 4 minute songs, for the most part! It's a creative approach, and it's a brave record. If Surrealistic Pillow lured the mainstream into the rabbit hole, this one is the tripped out tea party inside! Only a couple of tunes roll past the 5 minute mark, so it never gets too far out, and it's got plenty of chugging, bluesy rock to keep it neat. Includes "The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil", "Young Girl Sunday Blues", "Martha", "Wild Tyme", "Two Heads", "Watch Her Ride", "Won't You Try/Sunday Afternoon"and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Jefferson Airplane's weirder follow-up to Surrealistic Pillow – and a pretty incredible record – concentrating their sprawling psychedelic impulses into fairly succinct 3 to 4 minute songs, for the most part! It's a creative approach,and it's a brave record. If Surrealistic Pillow lured the mainstream into the rabbit hole, this one is the tripped out tea party inside! Only a couple of tunes roll past the 5 minute mark, so it never gets too far out, and it's got plenty of chugging, bluesy rock to keep it neat. Includes "The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil", "Young Girl Sunday Blues", "Martha", "Wild Tyme", "Two Heads", "Watch Her Ride", "Won't You Try/Sunday Afternoon"and more. CD

Pianist Wynton Kelly recorded for some of the key labels in jazz during his too-short life – a list that includes both Blue Note and Verve, as well as the smaller Vee Jay imprint – yet this session, which was his final, came out after his early passing on Chicago's Delmark label – at a time when it was crucial that Kelly's name was kept alive in the record racks. The group here takes the proceedings almost back to those excellent Kelly dates for Vee Jay at the start of the 60s – thanks to work from Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums – and the tunes have that easygoing, soulful vibe that Wynton did so well. Titles include "Castilian Waltz", "Say A Little Prayer For Me", "House Of Cards", "Yesterday", "Watch What Happens", and "When Love Slips Away". CD

Pianist Wynton Kelly recorded for some of the key labels in jazz during his too-short life – a list that includes both Blue Note and Verve, as well as the smaller Vee Jay imprint – yet this session, which was his final, came out after his early passing on Chicago's Delmark label – at a time when it was crucial that Kelly's name was kept alive in the record racks. The group here takes the proceedings almost back to those excellent Kelly dates for Vee Jay at the start of the 60s – thanks to work from Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums – and the tunes have that easygoing, soulful vibe that Wynton did so well. Titles include "Castilian Waltz", "Say A Little Prayer For Me", "House Of Cards", "Yesterday", "Watch What Happens", and "When Love Slips Away". CD

Includes the songs "Watch What Happens", "You Must Believe In Spring", "Friday Fugue", "Once Upon A Summertime", "J & B", "The Saddest Thing Of All", and "Splittons". CD

A record that no hip hop home should be without – the debut album from Main Source, but a set that's more than strong enough to stand next to the best from contemporaries like De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, and Black Sheep! Like all three of those groups, these guys have a way of bringing together fresh rhythms and samples, sharp-edged writing, and a keen sense of wit – all part of that next-generation level of intellectual hip hop that made them so groundbreaking at the time – and which still makes this album a fantastic delight all these many years later! The album introduced the world to the genius of Large Professor – and continues to shine for decades, thanks to tunes that include "Snake Eyes", "Looking At The Front Door", "Live At The Barbecue", "Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball", "Peace Is Not The Word To Play", "Watch Roger Do His Thang", "He Got So Much Soul (He Don't Need No Music)", and "Just Hangin Out". CD

An amazing little soundtrack that's almost better than the show for which it was written! The set's a landmark batch of work from Hugo Montenegro – working here in a jazzy style that has lots of 60s mod touches – traces of spy soundtrack influence, but a bit more straight ahead too – never losing a groove on most numbers, and really working with a wonderful range of rhythms and odd instrumental touches. Even at this early point, Montenegro already shows a great talent for making familiar instruments sound unusual – coming across with odd tones and effects that really keep things interesting, especially on some of the mellower tracks in the set. Tremendous work throughout – with tracks that include "Meet Mr. Solo", "A Martini Built For Two", "The Invaders", "Solo's Samba", and "Watch Out!". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a great jazz guitarist – working here in a really wonderful setting – a live date that both lets Jimmy Raney hit some beautifully intimate moments out front, but also lets him swing a bit too – thanks to help from Sam Jones on bass and Leroy Williams on drums! Raney still has that raspy tone that we first fell in love with on his 50s records – a clarity on the strings that easily made him one of the most important jazz guitarists of the time – but he's also got a more mature sense of chromes, which creates this beautiful dance of tones as his fingers move along the strings of the guitar – always clear in his vision, but still working with a sense of surprise that always keeps things interesting. Titles include "How About You", "Darn That Dream", "Here's That Rainy Day", "Stella By Starlight", "Watch What Happens", and "Anthropology". CD features the bonus track "Just Friends". CD

Landmark harmony soul from The Stylistics – a set that's every bit as wonderful as their debut, with the kind of sweet, soulful sound that got played over and over and over and over again back in the day! The album's got a subtle sort of power, though – one that lies not only in its classic cover image, but also in the way that the group mix up the fragile themes of love with some deeper aspects of the human condition – heard to best effect on the classic "Children Of The Night" – a massive 7 minute number that stands nicely next to the shorter singles. Thom Bell produced and arranged the whole thing to Philly perfection – with lots of help from Linda Creed on the songwriting – and titles include "Children of the Night", "Break Up To Make Up", "You'll Never Get To Heaven", "Stone In Love With You", "It's Too Late", "If You Don't Watch Out", and "Peek A Boo". CD

Prime 80s work from Tears For Fears – a duo who manage to mix new romantic charms with some surprisingly strong electro pop styles! This set has the group rivalling Human League on their first few tuneful records – with maybe even some darker echoes around the edges – and though the album was part of a big flurry of electric UK pop that was coming out over the space of a few short years, it's also got more depth than most – which has given the album a surprisingly strong run over the decades. Titles include Change", "Mad World", and "Pale Shelter" – plus "Watch Me Bleed", "The Prisoner", "The Hurting", "Suffer The Children", "Ideas As Opiates", and "Start Of The Breakdown". LP, Vinyl record album

We couldn't think up a better title to describe the way that Joe Tex approached soul music in the 60s – giving 110% to his music, working like a dog to climb the ranks that were already filled with other budding soul stars! This album's a perfect example of Joe at his best – nearly all original tunes recorded in close collaboration with producer Buddy Killen, whose unique talents really brought out the best in Joe's honest apporach to soul music. The album includes the studio version of the classic groover "Papa Was Too", and loads of other classics like "SYSLJFM (The Letter Song)", "I've Got To Do A Little Bit Better", "Half A Mind", "I Believe I'm Gonna Make It", "Watch The One (That Brings The Bad News)', and "A Woman Sees A Hard Time (When Her Man Is Gone)". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool early work from Vangelis – an album recorded right after he left Aphrodite's Child, and with a sound that's not that different than the group's final album 666 – especially in the compelling sonic range that's used throughout! Some tracks are straight ahead, some are experimental, and there's some very interesting keyboards, guitars, and unusual production. Titles include "The City", "Come On", "We Were All Uprooted", "A Song", "Watch Out", "Sunny Earth", and "Ritual". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little soundtrack – as campy as the film it was written for – and a record that's gone on to be one of the touchstone soundtracks of the 60s! Some of the tunes are more straight numbers by Johnny Williams – a bit dreamy, but with some nice easy touches – but the best tunes are the swinging vocal numbers, like "Give A Little More", "Come Live with Me" and "I'll Plant My Own Tree" – which have the fierceness of the film's characters set loose on record (an important thing in the years before you could watch a DVD copy of the movie at home!) Plus, the album starts out with the great monologue which begins the film – kind of a dreamy narrative about the beginning of the downfall that destroyed the life of Neely Bruce – and leads into tracks that include "It's Impossible", "Theme From Valley Of The Dolls", "Jennifer's Recollection", and "Jennifer's French Movie". LP, Vinyl record album

Wu Tang pulls together for the long-awaited A Better Tomorrow! Wu Tang is such a large, star-filled ensemble, and they form a unified front so rarely after 20+ years in the game, it's always gonna make waves when they release a proper Wu Tang Clan album. The stakes are high enough here that they made sure to get a Warner deal to put it out, and bring Rick Rubin to co-produce the lead single with RZA – and if it's surely not going the find it's way in the all time classic hip hop pantheon with the early Wu Tang and the best solo record (how could it?), it's great to hear all these legendary voices trade verses after all these years. Includes "Ruckus In B Minor", "Felt", "Hold The Heater", "Preacher's Daughter", "A Better Tomorrow", "Never Let Go", "Wu-Tang Reunion", "Miracle", "Keep Watch" and more. CD

A jazz guitar/Hammond organ session – the former by Shoji Yokouchi, the latter by Yuri Tashiro – but a variation on the form that's quite different than usual, and very much in the groundbreaking style of the Three Blind Mice label! Shoji plays a few different guitars – both acoustic and electric – and rather than just ape an American use of guitar next to organ, the style here is often nicely changed up – partly because the phrasing can be different when the guitar is acoustic, but also because in true Three Blind Mice form, the arrangements are often very inventive and unusual. Other players include Kunimitsu Inaba on bass and Hajime Ishimatsu on drums – and titles include "New Orleans Sunday", "Drink Up Vodka Martini", "Misty", "Moanin", "Greensleeves", and "Your Watch Is Ten Minutes Slow". CD

If all airports sounded this great, we'd travel all the time! Copenhagen Airport is the 3rd in Rambling's exploration of the best grooves from the current Scandinavian scene – a host of tracks from Deeplay Records of the past few years, served up in a lively mix of soulful house and more abstract numbers! The grooves here are mostly upbeat, but have plenty of warm jazzy touches – that more organic approach to the groove that's made the Scandinavian scene one watch in recent years, and which often has some nice jazz-influenced moments. Titles include "All We Want" by Zion Lockwood, "Bossa Note (Jask's reprise)" by Dalminjo, "The Most Beautiful Boy In Brazil (Physics 2005 rework)" by Physics, "Let The Sun Shine" by John Dahlback, "Get Out Of That Beat (Rurals' midnight flower mix)" by Physics, "Despacito" by Dalminjo featuring Malena, "7AM Sessions (Thiasoul sunrise mix)" by Physics, and "I Am" by Jeff Bennett's Lounge Experience. CD

We're always happy to take a trip to Crampsville – as the journey means that we not only get to live within the world of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, we also get to discover a huge amount of obscure singles from the glory days of the indie 45! The Cramps built their music on building blocks like these – weird, obscure tunes from the late 50s and early 60s – often leaping across genres in a single tune – mixing rock and R&B, slinky lounge with gritty sleaze, and always exploding with the kind of energy that never could have lasted past the few minutes of music that fit on a 7" record. The set's very much in the great mode of other Righteous Cramps-inspired titles – and features 52 tracks that include "Love Slave" by Bart Mattson, "She'll Never Let Him Go" by Gin Gillette, "Little Joe" by Jack Day, "I'm Blue" by The Ikettes, "Chicken Rock" by Scott Wood & His Band, "Big Foot" by Googie Rene, "The Tingle" by Jackie Weaver, "She's Mine" by Johnny Strickland, "I Got School" by Scott Miller, "Stop At The Hop" by Don Eee, "Rock & Roll Fever" by Gene Ray, "The Gorilla Walk" by Sascha Burland, "The Cat" by Rod Willis, "Watch Your Step" by Bobby Parker, and "I'm Buggin Out Little Baby" by Donny Lee Moore. CD

One of those few classic cases where a compilation of tracks was maybe even more influential than the original music itself – as this early 70s collection of 60s material turned out to shape and influence generations for decades to come! Guitar genius Lenny Kaye put the set together famously for Elektra Records in 1972 – as a reminder that, just a few years before, there were some amazing sounds that were not only brewing up in local indie scenes around the country, but also on the radio as well – even though most of those groups had been pushed into relative obscurity by the rise of soft rock, hard rock, and classic rock of the early 70s! The package is a return to the pre-prog years, with an especially strong ear for garage-tuned tracks that would go on to shape later punk, 80s indie, and lots more underground sounds in the future. Volume 2 includes tracks by Kim Fowley, the Elastik Band, Chocolate Watch Band, Kenny and the Kasuals, Human Beinz, Del-Vetts, Squires, Night Crawlers, and the Beau Brummels – 31 tracks total. CD

An excellent 2CD primer of material collected during the dawn of the reggae age by the Trojan label on their 8 volume Tighten Up series. Bringing together some of the finest rocksteady & reggae cuts produced by Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, Scratch Perry & Joe Gibbs, the original compilations went a long way towards widening the appeal of the then poorly distributed Jamaican soul singles. The 52 songs spread out over these 2 CDs read like the playlist from a top selector's sound system, including The Untouchables' "Tighten Up", Val Bennett's "Spanish Harlem", The Uniques' "Watch This Sound", Clancy Eccles "Fatty Fatty" and "Rod Of Correction", The Upsetters' "Return Of Django", Niney's "Blood & Fire", Bob Andy's "You Don't Know", The Wailers' "Duppy Conqueror" & Johnny Clarke's "None Shall Escape The Judgement". CD

Two rare albums from one of the greatest modern pianists ever! Jaki Byard With Strings is a wonderful album – and nothing like any other "with strings" album you've ever heard! Sure, the set does have some stringed instruments in the group – but it's a small combo session with bass, violin, guitar, and cello, not a large overly-orchestral affair. Byard's mad vision uses these strings wonderfully to carve out some oddly arranged tunes that mix together soul jazz grooving and a haunting spiritual approach to jazz that points at later work on labels like Strata East. Includes a sublime remake of "Music To Watch Girls By", "Falling Rains Of Life", "Cat's Cradle Conference Rag", and a long version of "How High The Moon". Solo Piano is an obscure set from 1969, featuring Byard's lonely musings on the keyboard on shorter tracks that reference a huge history of traditions. Titles include "Seasons", "Spanish Tinge 2", "Hollis Stomp", "Top Of The Gate Rag", and "Ray's Blues". CD

The last album that Crow would ever give the world, and a great capper to their short by strong run of records in the early 70s! Like so many of the harder-edged American rock groups of the time, these guys have moved completely past the blues that inspired their initial sounds – working out plenty of their own inflections on guitar and organ, at a level that's never slavish at all to the roots – and which instead really serves to provide the perfect polish for the nicely sinister vocals on the set! Titles include "Easy Street", "Sky Is Crying", "Watch That Cat", "Watching Can Waste Up The Time", "Yellow Dawg", "Satisfied", and "Let's Not Say Goodbye" – the prophetic last song on the record. LP, Vinyl record album