Four of the more obscure RCA albums from the great Bobby Bare – all brought together here in a single set! First up is the very unusual English Countryside album – a special set that has the vocals of Bobby Bare paired with a group from the UK – Liverpool's Hillsiders, who sing with a style that's a bit folk, and a bit rock – but which takes on a very distinct country vibe amidst the RCA production of Chet Atkins! Both Bare and The Hillsiders sing solo on the record – but most of the set has them paired together, and the presence of all those voices on the tracks create a nice sense of spontaneity – maybe a hint at the more relaxed recording approach that Bobby would use on his big albums of the mid 70s! Titles include "Sweet Dreams", "Six Days On The Road", "Find Out What's Happening", "Love's Gonna Live Here", "Goin Home", "Blue Is My Lonely Room", and "I Washed My Face In The Mountain Dew". Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn is a seminal album in the career of Bobby Bare – and the record that really has him turning from a young smiling country singer to the kind of more adult, mature talent that would really send him over the top! The album's promise of "controversial country songs" is certainly apt – as in addition to the great Tom T Hall title cut, the album also features Bare taking on great material from Kris Kristoffersen, Mel Tillis, and even the team of Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn – all set to arrangements that are nicely more sophisticated than those used on the more pop productions of some of Bobby's earlier albums. Titles include "Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn,", "The Law Is For The Protection Of The People", "Watching The Trains Go By", "Skip A Rope", "Rainy Day In Richmond", "Cincinnati Jail", "Wild As The Wind", and "Drink Up & Go Home". I Hate Goodbyes is the record that marked the return of Bobby Bare to RCA Records in the early 70s – and one that also marks the start of a very different phase in Bare's career! This time around, Bobby's handling the production himself – working with the kind of thoughtful, mature material that would really let him open up – songs from Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newbury, the team of Bill Rice and Jerry Foster, and even an early tune from Shel Silverstein – who would soon become one of the biggest contributors to Bobby's records. The vibe is very different than his RCA material of the mid 60s, and in a great way – on titles that include "I Hate Goodbyes", "Restless Wind", "Ride Me Down Easy", "Send Tomorrow To The Moon", "You Know Who", "An Offer She Couldn't Refuse", "What's Your Mama's Name Child", and "Poison Red Berries". Last up is Cowboys & Daddys – an overlooked gem in the mid 70s RCA years of the great Bobby Bare – and a set that really shows the dedication that Bare had during these years to finding the most sophisticated material of the new country generation! The list of songwriters alone is great – as the set features tracks from Terry Allen, Shel Silverstein, David Hickey, and Tom T Hall – plus an early contribution from Bob McDill, with whom Bare would soon record a lot more material on albums to come. There's a mature, laidback vibe to the whole set – different than some of the more playful Bobby Bare albums of the time – and titles include "Chester", "The Cowboy & The Poet", "Amarillo Highway", "Speckled Pony", "Calgary Snow", "Last Dance At The Old Texas Moon", "Pretty Painted Ladies", and "The Stranger". CD

Fantastic sounds from Terry Allen – one of the key underground Texas talents who were helping transform the style of country music in the 70s – and one of the few who maybe never fully got his due! Terry's from the same scene as David Allen Coe, Billy Joe Shaver, and Guy Clark, but his music is much more underground than theirs – maybe only ever designed to be put forth in an intimate club setting, late in the night – where the very conversational style of Allen's songs almost make them feel like barroom musings of a cat who's seen a heck of a lot of life on this planet, but still very able to peer into the souls of those he comes across. This double-length set is Allen's masterpiece – originally issued on a small pressing back in the 70s, and very much an alt-country relic – but from a time when such a thing didn't even exist. Titles include "Cocktails For Three", "High Plains Jamboree", "Amarillo Highway", "Lubbock Woman", "Rendezvous USA", "The Girl Who Danced Oklahoma", "Truckload Of Art", and "The Pink & Black Song". Great reissue – with corrected sound, and a huge booklet of notes on Allen – with essays by David Byrne and others. CD

Includes the songs "Eleggua", "Takes A Second", "Mother Africa", "Nino Divino", "Cha-Amarillo", "Sleeping Lion", "Blanco En Africa", "Twice As Sad", "Why So Complicated", "Fragile", "Desde Alla", "Prietos", and "Misa". CD

We love Joe Henderson's 70s sides, and though this is reaching the end of the decade, it still smokes. Joe sounds great, with his raw edge still intact, playing nice far reaching solos that never leave the pocket. The set opens with "Y Todavia La Quiero", a nice groover with a feel like an uptempo "Love Supreme" set to cook rather than open you up spiritually. Chick Corea, Tony Dumas and Peter Erskine are the band, though Richard Davis and Tony Williams guest on two cuts. The set also includes one of our favorite Corea compositions, 'Yes, My Dear", plus the title track, "Crimson Lake" and "My One And Only Love". LP, Vinyl record album

We love Joe Henderson's 70s sides, and though this is reaching the end of the decade, it still smokes. Joe sounds great, with his raw edge still intact, playing nice far reaching solos that never leave the pocket. The set opens with "Y Todavia La Quiero", a nice groover with a feel like an uptempo "Love Supreme" set to cook rather than open you up spiritually. Chick Corea, Tony Dumas and Peter Erskine are the band, though Richard Davis and Tony Williams guest on two cuts. The set also includes one of our favorite Corea compositions, 'Yes, My Dear", plus the title track, "Crimson Lake" and "My One And Only Love". CD

A sweetly swinging seventies set from pianist Tommy Flanagan – one of those records that's a perfect balance between the bop-inspired dexterity of his work on the keyboard, and that undeniable warmth he always brought to his best recordings! Tommy's got maybe a bit more bite on the keys, especially when moving at a quicker pace – and backing is by George Mraz on bass, whose round tones emphasize the warmer elements, and Elvin Jones on drums – who may well be part of the reason for the bite! The set features a number of bop classic tunes – like "Oleo", "Confirmation", and "Relaxin At Camarillo" – plus the great title cut "Eclypso", and a moody reading of Tom McIntosh's excellent "The Cup Bearers". CD

Includes the tracks "Moose The Mooche", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "A Night In Tunisia", "Loverman", "The Gypsy", "Hot Blues", "Cool Blues", "Relaxin' At Camarillo", "Stupendous", "All The Things You Are", "Bird Of Paradise", "Embraceable You", "Klact-Oveeseds-Tene", "Scrapple From The Apple", "My Old Flame", "Out Of Nowhere", and "How Deep Is The Ocean?". CD

A great example of the Muse Records charm of altoist Richie Cole – bop-fired creativity at its peak, mixed with some added contemporary elements to keep things fresh! In this case, Richie's horn takes on some key bop classics, but also opens up a bit with vocalsits too – Eddie Jefferson on versions of "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Waiting For Waits" – the latter of which also features Tom Waits as well! The Manhattan Transfer make some subtle guest appearances too – but in ways that are much more restrained than their own albums, really leaving most room for Richie's horn. Bruce Forman plays guitar and Dick Hindman piano – and titles include "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", "Hooray For Hollywood", "I Love Lucy", "Malibu Breeze", "Waiting For Waits", and "Tokyo Rose Sings The Hollywood Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Frank Zappa's biggest-selling albums of the early 70s and it's also one of his best ever! Over-Nite Sensation finds Zappa's leftfield weirdness and sly social satire at play within adventurous, but accessible arrangements. It's got some early fusiony bits paired with heavy drums and muscular rock riffs – and it's a hell of a great sound! The songs themselves are sharp, too. If forced to make a list of favorite Zappa songs, it'd certainly include "Camarillo Brillo", which kicks this record off – and other titles include "I'm The Slime", "Montana", "Dinah-Moe Humm", "Zomby Woof", and "Dirty Love". Features keyboards from George Duke and violin from Jean Luc Ponty – plus horns by Ian Underwood, Sal Marquez, Tom Fowler and Bruce Fowler – plus percussion by Ruth Underwood and amazing drums by Ralph Humphrey. CD

One of Frank Zappa's biggest-selling albums of the early 70s and it's also one of his best ever! Over-Nite Sensation finds Zappa's leftfield weirdness and sly social satire at play within adventurous, but accessible arrangements. It's got some early fusiony rock bits paired with heavy drums and muscular rock riffs – and it's a hell of a great sound! The songs themselves are sharp here, too. If forced to make a list of favorite Zappa songs, it'd certainly include "Camarillo Brillo", which kicks this record off – and other titles include "I'm The Slime", "Montana", "Dinah-Moe Humm", "Zomby Woof", and "Dirty Love". Features keyboards from George Duke and violin from Jean Luc Ponty – plus horns by Ian Underwood, Sal Marquez, Tom Fowler and Bruce Fowler – plus percussion by Ruth Underwood and amazing drums by Ralph Humphrey. LP, Vinyl record album

A great example of the Muse Records charm of altoist Richie Cole – bop-fired creativity at its peak, mixed with some added contemporary elements to keep things fresh! In this case, Richie's horn takes on some key bop classics, but also opens up a bit with vocalsits too – Eddie Jefferson on versions of "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Waiting For Waits" – the latter of which also features Tom Waits as well! The Manhattan Transfer make some subtle guest appearances too – but in ways that are much more restrained than their own albums, really leaving most room for Richie's horn. Bruce Forman plays guitar and Dick Hindman piano – and titles include "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", "Hooray For Hollywood", "I Love Lucy", "Malibu Breeze", "Waiting For Waits", and "Tokyo Rose Sings The Hollywood Blues". CD

The legendary debut of Fear – a landmark in the LA punk scene of the early 80s, and a set that's maybe also showing some of the key shifts that were happening at the time! There's still plenty of hard and fast work going on here, and that undercurrent of wit that marked so much of the best Cali punk – but there's also a sense of evil, darkness, and relentless energy that really gets at the way the heat was really turning up, almost as a competition for intensity that just kept on pushing the whole scene forward in a tremendous way. Titles include "We Destroy The Family", "I Love Livin In The City", "Let's Have A War", "Camarillo", "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones", "Gimme Some Action", "Foreign Policy", and "Beef Boloney". LP, Vinyl record album

Two giants from the LA bop scene of years past – still sounding wonderful here in the later years of their career! We're not sure we'd rapidly embrace the "young" in the title – but only because there's a maturity of playing here that really makes the record great – a sense of pacing and individuality that makes the trumpet of Howard McGhee and tenor of Teddy Edwards so strong – as they get respectful accompaniment from Art Hillery on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all players who seem to step into the McGhee/Edwards mode, rather than shape things on their own. Titles include "Reflections", "Relaxin At Camarillo", "Yardbird Suite", "On A Misty Night", and "Blues In The Closet". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "Tiny's Tempo", "Koko", "Moose The Mooche", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "A Night In Tunisia", "Cool Blues", "Relaxin' At Camarillo", "Chasin' The Bird", "Cheryl", "Milestones", "Embraceable You", "Scrapple from The Apple" "Out Of Nowhere", "Quasimodo", "Crazeology", "Bluebird", "Au-Leu-Cha", "Parker's Mood", and "Merry Go Round". CD

A fantastic 4CD set – featuring all of the historic Charlie Parker recordings for the legendary Dial label! The sessions were recorded in the years 1946 and 1947, and they comprise some of Bird's best work – as they include original recordings of classics like "Ornithology", "Bongo Bop", "Dexterity", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Moose The Mooche". There's a total of 89 tracks on the set – including master takes, excerpts, and a number of alternates that show very different approaches to the same material. Very nice – and nicely done in compact form! CD

A collection of tracks from Mid 40s sessions with Miles Davis, Maax Roach, Duke Jordan, Howard McGhee, Erroll Garner, Wardell Gray, Barney Kessel, and others. Titles include "The Gypsy", "Cool Blues", "Relaxin' At Camarillo", "Cheers", "Bongo Bop", "Bird Feathers", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A gem by Joe Pass – recorded "live" in the studio a few months before his legendary For Django album, but never issued until the 70s! The set's got a freeness that you don't always hear in some of Pass' other more restrained work – and working with a quartet that includes Mike Wofford on piano, Pass crafts some long and beautiful versions of tracks that include "Joy Spring", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Some Time Ago". CD