A brilliant follow-up to the first Brasilianos set from Hamilton De Hollanda – one that's even more dynamic than the first, and which comes with a bonus DVD as well! The group is awash in warm acoustic sounds – Hamilton on 10-string mandolin, Daniel Santiago on acoustic guitar, Gabriel Grossi on harmonica, Andre Vasconcellos on bass, and Marcio Bahia on drums – all working in ways that link the best Brazilian jazz modes of the 70s and 80s with some of the tones of the American acoustic underground! The use of harmonica is especially nice – played with a rich chromatic flair in ways that are similar to Mauricio Einhorn – and titles include "Ano Bom", "O Mundo Nao Acabou", "Paz Paes", "Ajaccio", "Carolina De Carol", and "Rafaela". Also features a bonus DVD – with a live performance! CD

A great little set from the 70s run of Motown albums from Rare Earth – an album that's sometimes overlooked, but which still has the group very much at the top of their game! Here, they're working with production from Stewart Levine – who handled the wonderful Adventures In Paradise album for Minnie Riperton – and the sound has a way of being more sophisticated than their roots, but nicely lean too – never cluttered, and always focused – at a level that's great when things are funky, and equally wonderful when they're more directly soulful! Titles include "Walking Schtick", "City Life", "Keeping Me Out Of The Storm", "It Makes You Happy", "Let Me Be Your Sunshine", "Boogie With Me Children", and "Happy Song". CD

Current Rage were one of the more obscure groups to come out of the Athens, GA scene in the early 80s – but they've also got all the instantly creative energy that made that short-lived world of music every bit as exciting as some of the best New York sounds at the time! There's a nicely choppy approach to the rhythms going on here, and plenty of strong guitar play too – deft music that's somewhere in the territory of Pylon, and like that group, maybe a warmer US answer to British post-punk sounds of the same time. Titles include "Right Side Of The Brain", "Bitte Schoen", "Sweet Torture", "My Dog Sam", "Looking Through Gels", and "Scream In The Dark". Expanded version features bonus tracks that include "Adventures In America", "Punch A Clock", "The Theme", "Constant Hiss", and live tracks "My Dog Sam", "AF", "Tequila", and "The Book Pressed Flowers". LP, Vinyl record album

A follow-up to Shorter's successful Footprints Live album – done in the same sort of angular and introspective mode, and also with a group that includes Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blad on drums. The overall style's not as much in the joyous, soulful Shorter mode that we love so much from the earlier years – but the record is a good follow-up to Footprints, and will please if you dig that set. Titles include "Smilin Through", "Joy Ryder", "Tinker Bell", "Over Shadow Hill Way", "Adventures Aboard The Golden Mean", and "Beyond The Sound Barrier". CD

A wonderful look at the Compass Point Studios in Nassau – a force that was as important to the sound of grooves in the early 80s as Stax and Fame were to soul in the 60s! Compass Point was the brainchild of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, but it offered up way more than just a reggae-styled approach to the music – and although the house band at Compass featured both Sly and Robbie, the overall sound was a groundbreaking mix of funk, punk, and post-disco elements! Compass Point was a key recording site for a number of leftfield acts in its early years – and this package does a great job of showing the way the studio left an undeniable imprint on the sound of its time. The booklet features very detailed notes on the studio, its scene, and its key players – and the CD features 13 great 80s grooves that include "Genius Of Love" by Tom Tom Club, "Dance Sucker (Francois K rmx)" by Set The Tone, "Obsession (Nassau mix)" by Guy Cuevas, "Padlock (Larry Levan mix)" by Gwen Guthrie, "River Niger" by Sly Dunbar, "Don't Stop The Music" by Bits & Pieces, "Spasticus Autisticus (version)" by Ian Dury, "You Rented A Space" by Cristina, "Adventures In Success (dub copy)" by Will Powers, "Whisper" by Chaz Jankel, "Born Under Punches" by Talking Heads, and "My Jamaican Guy (12" version)" by Grace Jones. CD

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A mighty nice collision of sounds – and one that really gets at the special spirit of music on the left side of the scene at the start of the 80s! Sure, punk broke things open in the late 70s – but a few years later, that initial shock gave way to a much more fluid, experimental sort of scene – one in which different sounds and styles could resonate with each other in a really great way – some barriers between rock and soul forever taken down, and the door from the artier side of the spectrum open to bring some fresh ideas into the mainstream! Writer Jon Savage was a very important part of the scene at the time – and here, he recalls the musical moment not just with a great array of tracks that leap between genres, but also with well-penned notes that get at the thought behind the tunes included on the 35 track set. Titles include "Hydraulic Pump (part 2)" by P Funk All Stars, "We're So Cool" by Au Pairs, "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, "Don't Make Me Wait" by NYC Peech Boys, "Poor Old Soul (part 2)" by Orange Juice, "Sound Of The Crowd" by Human League, "Underground" by The Bizarros, "Twist & Crawl" by The Beat, "These Days" by Joy Division, "The Apartment" by Giorgio Moroder, "She's Lost Control" by Grace Jones, "More Bounce To The Ounce" by Zapp, "Flight" by A Certain Ratio, "Euthenics" by Modern Eon, "Too Many Creeps" by Bush Tetras, "How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise" by Brother D with Collective Effort, "Mack The Knife" by Psychedelic Furs, "Pictures" by Josef K, "Adventures On The Wheels Of Steel" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "Art On 45" by Royal Family & The Poor, and "Our Love" by Donna Summer. CD

A 2LP set, released in the mid 60's as a "Capitol Record Club Exclusive" – and one that compiles some of Baxter's best work for the label. The inside of the cover has some good notes on Baxter's career, and the record contains many nice moments like "Dancing Diamonds", "Lost In Meditation", "Blue Jungle", "Hong Kong Cable Car", "Bustin The Bongos", "Quiet Village", "Enchanted Sea", "Dawn on the City", and "A Distant Star". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty nice collision of sounds – and one that really gets at the special spirit of music on the left side of the scene at the start of the 80s! Sure, punk broke things open in the late 70s – but a few years later, that initial shock gave way to a much more fluid, experimental sort of scene – one in which different sounds and styles could resonate with each other in a really great way – some barriers between rock and soul forever taken down, and the door from the artier side of the spectrum open to bring some fresh ideas into the mainstream! Writer Jon Savage was a very important part of the scene at the time – and here, he recalls the musical moment not just with a great array of tracks that leap between genres, but also with well-penned notes that get at the thought behind the tunes included on the 35 track set. Titles include "Hydraulic Pump (part 2)" by P Funk All Stars, "We're So Cool" by Au Pairs, "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, "Don't Make Me Wait" by NYC Peech Boys, "Poor Old Soul (part 2)" by Orange Juice, "Sound Of The Crowd" by Human League, "Underground" by The Bizarros, "Twist & Crawl" by The Beat, "These Days" by Joy Division, "The Apartment" by Giorgio Moroder, "She's Lost Control" by Grace Jones, "More Bounce To The Ounce" by Zapp, "Flight" by A Certain Ratio, "Euthenics" by Modern Eon, "Too Many Creeps" by Bush Tetras, "How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise" by Brother D with Collective Effort, "Mack The Knife" by Psychedelic Furs, "Pictures" by Josef K, "Adventures On The Wheels Of Steel" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "Art On 45" by Royal Family & The Poor, and "Our Love" by Donna Summer. CD

A totally fresh take on French sounds of the late 60s – served up here with a sound that's as revolutionary as the image on the cover! This isn't the dreamy strings of familiar Paris in the Spring – but instead, the sound of change that happened in and around 1968 – as a whole new generation of younger French musicians, singers, artists, and intellectuals were really making themselves known in bold new ways! You'll recognize a few names here – like Serge Gainsbourg or Brigitte Fontaine – but the collection goes way beyond those bigger names, and features loads of obscure artists from the scene that will be a real revelation. The collection was done by the same Saint Etienne team that gave us the excellent English Weather and Songs For The Carnegie Deli compilations on Ace – and titles include "L'Elu" by Ilous & Decuyper, "La Metaphore" by Jacques Dutronc, "Looking For You" by Nin Ferrer, "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver" by Cortex, "Couleurs" by Leonie, "Leslie Simone" by William Sheller, "Litanies" by Triangle, "Baleines" by Francois De Roubaix, "Lileth" by Leonie, "Ystor" by Ys, "Chanson Pour Que Tu M'Aimes U Peu" by France Gall, "Le Victime" by Karl Heinz Schafer, "Les Adventures Extraordinaires D'Un Ballet De Banque" by Bernard Lavilliers, "Helicoptere" by Mireille Darc, "Les Garde Violent Au Secours Du Roi (alt version)" by Jean Claude Vannier, and "La Chanson D'Helene" by Romy Schneider & Michel Piccoli. LP, Vinyl record album

A masterclass in early rap from Sugar Hill Records – touchstone classics that thumped dancefloors from the early days to today, inspired the scene's kings and queens to follow, and helped pave the way for the sounds and styles to come! Bookended by the long versions of the good-natured party rocking namesake Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" and Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel equally iconic "White Lines (Don't Do It)", the rest of the tracks really find the sweet spot between always welcome familiarity and underappreciated gems – and it's great to have them all in a top notch package! Includes The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" (single version), "That's the Joint" by Funky 4 Plus One, " Break Dance-Electric Boogie" (single) by West Street Mob, "Funk You Up (Long Version)" by The Sequence and more, LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite chapter in the long and storied career of film score legend John Barry – music from a moment when he'd moved past the fame of his earlier James Bond soundtracks, and started hitting territory that was even more mindblowing overall! Barry was already great with Bond, and as those films moved on, he developed this amazing ear for more sophisticated, subtle elements – which unfold here at a level that easily puts the composer/arranger in territory of much more lauded studio and sound library talents! There's still some catchy vocal tunes in the mix – but what's even more striking is Barry's evolved sense of sound and timing – so that familiar instruments can sound all weird and unusual – yet still tuneful too – almost as if he were running over to the European avant garde to borrow a few sonic ideas, then fold them into the groovier numbers included within. The set features some of our favorite John Barry tracks ever, mixed with other more obscure numbers that are equally great – tunes that include "Follow Follow", "The Adventurer", "Highway 101", "The More Things Change", "Theme From The Appointment", "Fun City", "Midnight Cowboy", "Theme From Romance For Guitar & Orchestra", "We Have All The Time In The World", "Afternoon", "Theme From The Persuaders", "Lion In Winter", and "Who Will Buy My Yesterdays". CD

The Great Revivers are especially great here – really building off the sort of energy we love on their funky 45s, as they serve up great goods over the course of this full length album! There's a slight psychedelic edge to the music – not as tripped-out as a Malcolm Catto production might be, but with occasional fuzz in just the right places – both on guitars, and keyboard lines – the latter of which sound especially great with a bit of distortion! Drums are nice and heavy, and really great at slow funk steppers – on titles that include "The Worst", "Adventures Begin", "Taiga", "Seek & Destroy", "Russian Steps", "Evil's Nest", "From Darkness To Light", "Estrellas", and "Cowboy's Walk". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet exotic sounds from the Arthur Lyman group – heavy on vibes and lots of hip percussion – recorded with a gently swaying feel that recalls the best energy of the Hawaiian scene in the postwar years! The set's one of Lyman's early solo dates – recorded Henry Kaiser Aluminum Dome in Hawaii – which you can almost hear in the way the sounds here resonate, and hang sweetly in air. The tunes are pretty mellow, but in a good way – more sonically sensitive than some more gimmicky, sound effect-heavy exotica – and titles include "Adventures in Paradise", "Andalusia", "Yellow Bird", "Arrivederci Roma", "Sweet & Lovely", "Bamboo Taboo", "Granada", and "Ravel's Bolero". Fire up that console stereo and break out the Tiki glasses! LP, Vinyl record album

Heady sounds from Mushroom – a surprisingly long-running act who've been giving the world a great blend of funk and prog for decades! These guys hail from the Bay Area, and have clearly drunk deep of that location's legendary music scene – yet they also sometimes echo the soulful side of Can as well – spinning out long tracks with plenty of grooves, and lots of cool instrumental touches on flute, sax, vibes, and gongs! Matt Cunitz produced the record, and serves up some mighty cool keyboards – Fender Rhodes, Hammond, Clavinet, Moog, and more – on titles that include "Marc Moved To Buffalo", "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities", "Looking For Adventure", "One Ton Anvil", and "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful". LP, Vinyl record album

Heady sounds from Mushroom – a surprisingly long-running act who've been giving the world a great blend of funk and prog for decades! These guys hail from the Bay Area, and have clearly drunk deep of that location's legendary music scene – yet they also sometimes echo the soulful side of Can as well – spinning out long tracks with plenty of grooves, and lots of cool instrumental touches on flute, sax, vibes, and gongs! Matt Cunitz produced the record, and serves up some mighty cool keyboards – Fender Rhodes, Hammond, Clavinet, Moog, and more – on titles that include "Marc Moved To Buffalo", "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities", "Looking For Adventure", "One Ton Anvil", and "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little package, and way more than just the familiar exotica moments on mainstream compilations – as your guides here are Lux Interior and Poison Ivy of The Cramps – two folks who know more than plenty about the music of the farther reaches of the postwar years! And although their other collections for this label have gone way out to pull in some totally obscure material, the blend here is more measured – so that you'll get great cuts by some of the bigger exotica names, mixed with other numbers that are more unusual – and some that we wouldn't have even thought to include in such a package – all awash in sounds from the islands, tropical percussion, and even a few birdcalls and chants along the way! The 2CD set features a great range of material – and titles include "The Twisters" by Mel Henke, "Hampi" by Yma Sumac, "Mystery Of Love" by Olatunji, "Jardin De La Noche" by Robert Drasnin, "Mood For You" by Phil Moore, "Alegres Conga" by Cal Tlader, Envy" by Bill Russo, "Kele Kele" by Johnny Richards, "African Bossa Nova" by Ahmed Abdul Malik, "Tabu" by Augie Colon, "Pua Carnaeon" by Arthur Lyman, "Adventures In Paradise" by Leo Addeo, "Dance Of The Nustas" by Elisabeth Waldo, "Pagan Love Song" by Alex Stordal, "Balikpapan" by Jimmy Namaro Trio, and "Train To Ranchipur" by Markko Polo Adventurers. CD

The great first album from Ten Years After – recorded at a time when the group were maybe more strongly linked to the bluesy sounds of the beat group generation than in later years – although still with a hint of some of the trippy touches to come! There's a surprisingly strong dedication to American blues roots at many moments – not just on some of the songs by Sonny Boy Williamson or Willie Dixon – but, maybe thanks to producer Mike Vernon, or more likely the genius of Alvin Lee, the guitars are already getting a bit fuzzy at times, and the keyboards have some unusual tones that you never would have heard on the south side of Chicago. Titles include "I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes", "Spoonful", "Feel It For Me", "Help Me", "Adventures Of A Young Organ", "I Want To Know", and "Losing The Dogs". CD

An excellent session for BYG! Anthony Braxton is recorded here with a number of other Chicago AACM players, including Steve McCall, Leroy Jenkins, and Leo Smith. The instrumentation includes an amazing range of oddball sound sources, including Hohner Organ, sirens, logs, mouth organ, sound machine, and chimes, and the set's played with all the sense of humor and adventure you'd expect from some of the young AACM players. The record begins with the extended "Composition No 1", which is a fairly free piece; then it moves into a nice solo by Braxton, and then a set of "small compositions", which have some excellent horn interplay between Braxton and Smith. The LP ends with a cool spoken piece by Braxton called "This Time...". Wild stuff, and a great record from his early period. CD

Current Rage were one of the more obscure groups to come out of the Athens, GA scene in the early 80s – but they've also got all the instantly creative energy that made that short-lived world of music every bit as exciting as some of the best New York sounds at the time! There's a nicely choppy approach to the rhythms going on here, and plenty of strong guitar play too – deft music that's somewhere in the territory of Pylon, and like that group, maybe a warmer US answer to British post-punk sounds of the same time. Titles include "Right Side Of The Brain", "Bitte Schoen", "Sweet Torture", "My Dog Sam", "Looking Through Gels", and "Scream In The Dark". Expanded version features bonus tracks that include "Adventures In America", "Punch A Clock", "The Theme", "Constant Hiss (demo)", and live tracks "My Dog Sam", "AF", "Tequila", and "The Book Pressed Flowers". LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing too mad from reedman John Klemmer – but a set that nicely continues that spacey sound that Klemmer first created at Impulse Records, then moved into some warmer, more soulful territory on records like this! Klemmer's still got an incredibly strong sound on tenor – rich and full, and never held back at all – nor prone to some of the more gimmicky flourishes of some of his mainstream contemporaries – and the setting is never too slick or overdone, which seems to suit John just right! Keyboards work nicely in a mellow, spaced-out groove – and Klemmer crackles these effortless lines out in space – of the soulful style we first fell in love with on his earliest work for Chess. The set features guitar from John Tropea, keyboards from Don Grusin, and drums from Harvey Mason – and Klemmer even vocalizes a bit – in a surprisingly strong style for the music. Titles include "Magnificent Madness", "Deja Vu", "Lifesong", "Adventures In Paradise", "I Can't Help It", and "Don't Take Your Love Away". LP, Vinyl record album