... LP, Vinyl record album

Features very long takes on "Sweet Wine" and "NSU" – plus "Sleepy Time Time", "Lawdy Mama", and "Rollin & Tumblin". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Pressed Rat & Warthog", ""Politician", "Deserted Cities Of The Heart", "Sitting On Top Of The World", and "White Room". LP, Vinyl record album

Typical biker movie fare – but this time around played by some more famous groups! The album was put together by Mike Curb – the guy who crafted so many knock-off groups for Tower and Sidewalk biker soundtracks – and truthfully, Mike doesn't produce the work on the album by the big stars. Cream do a nicely gentle jazzy number called "Anyone For Tennis", and the fuzzy instrumental "Desert Ride" – and Iron Butterfly perform "Iron Butterfly Theme" and "Unconscious Power", plus some other instrumentals that are more in keeping with work on other Curb soundtracks. Barbara Kelly & The Morning Good do the rest of the album – very much in that instrumental rock vein that you'd get on other Curb scores – running through a pretty nice mix of instrumental tunes that includes "Savage Struggle", "The Medal", "Here Comes The Fuzz", and "Shacktown Revenge". LP, Vinyl record album

An early classic – with jazzy arrangements from Richard Wess, and cuts that include "Down With Love", "The Gal That Got Away", "Caravan", "Black Coffee", "My Gal Sal", and "Have You Got Any Castles Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Early solo work by Jesse Ed Davis – two albums in a single set! The self-titled Jesse Ed Davis set is one of a few records as a leader ever issued by the guitarist – a player who worked on countless other albums by big names in the late 60s and early 70s – but who has a very special flavor on his own! Davis is maybe best remembered as an important native American musician on the scene at the time – but his work here stands strongly with that of some of his hipper contemporaries – such as Eric Clapton, Leon Russel, and Gram Parsons – all of whom make an appearance here! Titles include the completely sublime "Golden Sun Goddess", worth the price of the album alone – plus "Tulsa County", "Every Night Is Saturday Night", "Crazy Love", "Reno Street Incident", and "Washita Love Child". Ululu has Jesse working with a number of his famous friends – including Leon Russell and Mac (Dr John) Rebennack – both of whose work the album owes a lot to. Jesse's got a down-home approach to his work – and sings a set of original tunes, plus versions of tracks by Merle Haggard, Leon Russell, Levon Helm, and Taj Mahal – which should give you a good idea of his frame of reference. Titles include "White Line Fever", "My Captain", "Sue Me Sue You Blues", "Ululu", "Alcatraz", and "Strawberry Wine". CD

Maybe one of the purest expressions of the genius of Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett – an album that was recorded to feel like it was done in a motel room – with a stripped-down vibe that really gets at the best energy of the pair! Roots rock mixes with blue-eyed soul, gospel piano, and folksy acoustic guitar – often handled with an approach that feels very spontaneous and personal – as if you were a motel staffer standing outside the door of the duo's room, waiting to deliver a meal, but afraid to knock in the middle of a tune! Titles include "Where The Soul Never Dies", "Come On In My Kitchen", "Faded Love", "Talkin Bout Jesus", "Never Sending Song Of Love", "Goin Down The Road Feelin Bad", and "Long Road Ahead". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Eric Clapton's greatest moments – and a set that also features guitars from Duane Allman and organ from Bobby Whitlock! Recorded in Miami at Criteria Studios – and titles include "Layla", "It's Too Late", "Little Wing", "Have You Ever Loved A Woman", "Tell The Truth", "Anyday", "Key To The Highway", and "Bell Bottom Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Tight funky work from Dr John – a second collaboration with producer Allen Toussaint, and a set that follows strongly on their Right Place record of the year before! The groove's not as messed-up as on the first few Atlantic records by the Doctor – but in it's place is a sweet electric funk mode, kind of an update on 60s New Orleans grooves – handled here by The Meters and a host of other key players from the Crescent City scene! Toussaint's production and arrangements are tight, but never slick at all – still much earthier than the later work, especially that on Warner Brothers, that was handled by the producer. And the tunes have a good focus that keeps Dr John on track lyrically – even though we'll admit that our main love of this record comes from the keyboards, bass, and funky drums! Titles include "Stealin", "What Comes Around (Goes Around)", "Mos' Scocious", "Rite Away", "R U 4 Real", "Let's Make A Better World", "Sing Along Song", "Go Tell The People", "Quitters Never Win", and "Can't Git Enuff". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A familiar concept, but an incredibly hip album – versions of tunes from the musical Gypsy, all played by an incredible group led by altoist Herb Geller! Geller could be a fantastically modern player when he wanted to be – and this album pushes him distinctly in that direction, as it has him working with a strong group of young players that includes Scott LaFaro on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, Hank Jones on piano, and Thad Jones on trumpet – kind of a "Jones Brothers Plus" album! The basic premise is that Geller and his group play tunes from the hit musical Gypsy – but they take those tunes and turn them on their head, creating tight little modern jazz gems, sparkling with creativity, and polished by some exceptional work by Geller and LaFaro! Barbara Long sings vocals on a few numbers, but the rest of the album's instrumental – and titles include "Cow Song", "Together", "Little Lamb", "Small World", and "Some People". LP, Vinyl record album

Life after Peter Gabriel – with Phil Collins doing a surprisingly great job on vocals – free from all the tripe of later years! The group are still very much in the mode of their early prog years, but balance things out with a few catchier tunes – a mode that's a bit like the Selling England By The Pound album, sans Gabriel. Collins is learning how to express himself soulfully, but not in a commercial way – and the few off moments are more than balanced with some wonderfully tight instrumental work – on tracks that include "Dance On A Volcano", "Robbery Assault & Battery", "Ripples", "Trick Of The Tail", and "Mad Man Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

We're not normally ones to rave about electric blues albums, but this one's a lot nicer than you might think – recorded with plenty of deep soul touches, and even a dose of funk in the right places! We hate to admit it, but a big part of the credit here goes to Eric Clapton – who produced most of the record and gives Buddy and Junior a tightness that's missing from some of their other records of the time. There's almost a post-Cream sort of groove to the record – that "hipper than rock" sensibility that colored many of Clapton's old group members' projects for Atlantic in the years after Cream disbanded. But of course, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells are the real stars of the set – and the record's good enough to make even jaded Chicago residents like us appreciate their talents here! Titles include "A Poor Man's Plea", "My Baby She Left Me", "A Man Of Many Words", "I Don't Know", and "This Old Fool". CD

A killer classic from Iron Butterfly – a group who always had way more to offer than their hits, as you'll find out when dipping into this full length set! The album's worth it alone for the organ lines – which kind of take off from the territory of The Doors, but are often more unusual – and mixed with vocals that can have an eerie sensibility, but without ever sounding indulgent! The music's not pop psych, but it's also never too full of itself – and titles include "In The Crowds", "In The Time Of Our Lives", "Soul Experience", "Lonely Boy", "Belda Beast", and "Filled With Fear". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy sounds from Iron Butterfly – a record that's not nearly as well known as their classic In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – but which has a very similar vibe all the way through! The songs are a bit shorter, but these guys really manage to do a lot with a little – using lots of brooding bass right up from the bottom, to create a blueprint for hard rock imitators in years to come – none of whom were able to match these guys' simple, direct approach – and their optimistic sense of power in their music. Many numbers often have this vocal interplay that really works wonderful with the fuzzy guitar lines – and titles include "Possession", "Unconscious Power", "So Lo", "Look For The Sun", "Stamped Ideas", "Fields Of The Sun", and a nice fuzzy funk version of "Get Out Of My Life Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's not a complete metamorphosis for Iron Butterfly, but one that definitely has the group stretching out with even more force and confidence than before! The group were maybe one of the few to come to hard rock via psych, instead of the blues rock path that so many others took at the time – and that difference is key here, as the songs really resonate with the potential for trippiness, but have this great sense of focus – one that makes the vocals sound even more potent than ever. There's still plenty of great organ work too – and titles include "Free Flight", "Shady Lady", "Best Years Of Our Life", "Slower Than Guns", and "Stone Believer". LP, Vinyl record album

A monstrous assortment of work from Iron Butterfly – one of the key groups in helping the American scene move from psych to hard rock at the end of the 60s! First up are mono and stereo mixes of Heavy – a record that's not nearly as well known as their classic In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – but which has a very similar vibe all the way through! The songs are a bit shorter, but these guys really manage to do a lot with a little – using lots of brooding bass right up from the bottom, to create a blueprint for hard rock imitators in years to come – none of whom were able to match these guys' simple, direct approach – and their optimistic sense of power in their music. Many numbers often have this vocal interplay that really works wonderful with the fuzzy guitar lines – and titles include "Possession", "Unconscious Power", "So Lo", "Look For The Sun", "Stamped Ideas", "Fields Of The Sun", and a nice fuzzy funk version of "Get Out Of My Life Woman". Next is the stereo mix of In A Gadda Da Vida – the album that rocked a million dorm rooms back in the 60s – and for good reason, too – given that the title track is a side-long, totally jamming monster – the kind of track that was really revolutionary at the time, and which still has a hell of an impact all these many years later! "In A Gadda Da Vida" was shortened to a single – with the big hook intact – but this classic album version runs for 17 minutes in length, and has the group doing all these cool jams with their instruments – all the animals in the garden of Eden talking to each other (or at least that's what our addled teenaged minds always thought!) Shorter tracks are mighty nice too – a heady, heavy brew of Hammond and fierce guitar from Erik Brann, on cuts all penned by group leader Doug Ingle. Titles include "Termination", "My Mirage", "Flowers & Roses", and "Most Anything You Want". Next is the stereo mix of Ball – a killer classic from Iron Butterfly – a group who always had way more to offer than their hits, as you'll find out when dipping into this full length set! The album's worth it alone for the organ lines – which kind of take off from the territory of The Doors, but are often more unusual – and mixed with vocals that can have an eerie sensibility, but without ever sounding indulgent! The music's not pop psych, but it's also never too full of itself – and titles include "In The Crowds", "In The Time Of Our Lives", "Soul Experience", "Lonely Boy", "Belda Beast", and "Filled With Fear". Next are mono and stereo mixes of Live – great live document of the heady power of Iron Butterfly – with titles that include "You Can't Win", "Are You Happy", "In A Gadda Da Vida", "Filled With Fear", and "In The Time Of Our Lives". Next is Metamorphosis – a record that's not a complete metamorphosis for Iron Butterfly, but one that definitely has the group stretching out with even more force and confidence than before! The group were maybe one of the few to come to hard rock via psych, instead of the blues rock path that so many others took at the time – and that difference is key here, as the songs really resonate with the potential for trippiness, but have this great sense of focus – one that makes the vocals sound even more potent than ever. There's still plenty of great organ work too – and titles include "Free Flight", "Shady Lady", "Best Years Of Our Life", "Slower Than Guns", and "Stone Believer". The set also features the 2CD 1968 Fillmore East set – an unreleased live performance from Iron Butterfly – one that captures the group at their late 60s height, in front of a very heady crowd at The Fillmore East! The recording quality is great – very clear, and different than the group's studio albums – with maybe even a bit more focus on the vocals of Doug Ingle, and the guitar lines of Erik Brann – in a way that lifts them out of the bottom sound a bit more, and presents the group in a whole new sort of focus! Plus, the brief patter from the stage also really helps us get an idea of how a trippy band like this could hold such great sway over a crowd at the time – energy that doesn't seem to stop at all, through the 2CD set's presentation of material from four different shows, on two nights of recording. Titles include "Are You Happy", "Stamped Ideas", "Fields Of Sun", "You Can't Win", "Unconscious Power", "My Mirage", "Her Favorite Style", "Possession", "Iron Butterfly Theme", and the mighty "In A Gadda Da Vida". CD set also features more tracks from singles, new remastering, a poster, and a big booklet of notes! CD

An overlooked 60s soul killer on Atlantic Records! We love Deon Jackson – we love his sweetly honest vocal style, we love his songs, and we love the great production he gets from the legendary Ollie McLaughlin! This album is the only one he ever cut – and it's a masterpiece all the way through! Ollie's production mixes some wonderful lilting qualities with rollicking hard soul – it's a far-reaching approach that works incredibly well with Deon's unique approach to the vocals! Includes the super-hit "Love Makes The World Go Round" and a charming uptown soul take on "King Of The Road", plus "Come Back Home", "1-2-3", "You Said You Love Me", "SOS", "Love Is What You Make It" and "Hush Little Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A great remake of the Wet Willie hit – one that's got a soaring, strutting clubby feel that's totally wonderful! The tune's a superb anthem from the old days – and although the hook's a bit commercial, it still sounds plenty great to us after all these years! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Jimmy James and his Vagabonds were a UK group, but they scored nicely in the US with this classic Atlantic side, which was licensed from Pye UK. The record includes their own big hit "Come To Me Softly", plus a number of other soul covers – like "I'm Just A Fool For You Girl", "This Heart Of Mine", "People Get Ready", "The Entertainer", "Ain't No Big Thing", and more! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Sophisticated soul from the great Ben E King – the kind of record that few other soul artists could touch at the time, and which shows the ever-growing strength of his voice as a solo act! The approach here is similar to the style King first forged with The Drifters – an uptown soul blend of raspy vocals, gentle rhythms, and some light orchestrations – never too pop, and always balanced carefully enough to let King's warmth and soul shine through in the lyrics. Arrangements are by Jerry Wexler and Bert Berns – both well-paired to match Ben's strength – and titles include "Seven Letters", "River Of Tears", "Down Home", "It's All Over", and "Let The Water Run Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of laidback psych from early 70s Brazil – the sort of more personal, more introspective work that some of the artists on the scene were cutting after the more experimental modes of the Tropicalia years! Guilherme Lamounier has a gentle sort of majesty in his music – very much in keeping with his image on the cover – stepping out in a trippier take on singer/songwriter modes, with his own vocals, guitar, and piano as the main focus on the tunes – touched nicely with keyboard work from Wagner Tiso, flute from Oberdan Magalhaes, and guitar from Lanny Gordin – artists used in these very sparing ways to spice up the sound, and give the record a loftier vibe than if Guilherme were just recording on his own. Lyrics are all in Portuguese, but the songs have a very universal appeal – a great sense of structure and building up energy – on titles that include "Freedom", "Mini Neila", "Patricia", "Passam Anos Passam Anas", "Amanha Nao Sei", "Capitao De Papel", and "Ols Telhados Do Mundo". LP, Vinyl record album

The standout solo effort from Penny McLean – best known as one of the three ladies singing in Silver Convention! Penny's working here with strong guidance from Silver Convention mainman Silvester Levay – in a mode that's equally pop and disco, recorded with a compressed poppish style in the production – one that almost pushes Penny's thin vocals down in between the bass and drums! "Lady Bump" was the hit, and other tracks follow in a similar crossover mode – with titles that include "The Wizard Bump", "1234 Fire", "ABC Of Love", "Big Bad Boy", "Baby Doll", and "I'm Knocking At Your Door". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A bold step forward for the Rascals – and a record that really has them taking some great chances with their music! There's a definite psychedelic influence in the mix, but the sound is also more ambitious too – not just a scattering of elements borrowed from their contemporaries, but a real effort to find a new place for their music – with some wonderful results! The great Arif Mardin is firmly teamed with the group here on arrangements – filling in the rough ideas of the tunes with some near-perfect backings – and the vocals themselves have a quality that's much more deeply personal than before – moving past the simple soul themes of earlier years. Titles include "Silly Girl", "My World", "Easy Rollin", "Please Love Me", "My Hawaii", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Singin The Blues Too Long", and "Sattva". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Livingston Taylor's not hiding his relation to brother James Taylor here – at least not in his style, which is strongly Taylor-like, but not nearly as filled with cliche! The songs are short, simple, and nicely personal – a bit folksy at moments, and at their best when sung with some jazzier phrasing on acoustic guitar. Liv's voice has a nicely light feel – beautifully lilting across the top of the tunes – and titles include "Hush A Bye", "Sit On Back", "Doctor Man", "Thank You Song", "Good Friends", and "Carolina Day". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A real comeback classic for the solo Pete Townshend – with titles that include "Slit Skirts", "North Country Girl", "The Sea Refuses No River", "Communication", "Uniforms", and "Somebody Saved Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A surprisingly nice solo set – with the classic "Rough Boys", plus "Cat's In The Cupboard", "Let My Love Open The Door", "Jools & Jim", "A Little Is Enough", and "I Am An Animal". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

Great demos and home recordings of THE WHO material in progress. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Face the Face", "Give Blood", "Secondhand Love", and more. David Gilmour from Pink Floyd guests. LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest concepts for a record in the 60s – and a set that's the first, and maybe crowning achievement of Vanilla Fudge! The set's mighty trippy – and often offers up very weird, fuzzy remakes of songs that were more mainstream hits for other artists in the 60s – tunes by The Beatles, Zombies, Impressions, and others – taken into really weird new territory by the group's jamming fuzz guitar, stark rhythms, and dark sensibilities. Genius Shadow Morton produced and directed the whole thing – which is one of his crowning achievements, and a great commentary on some of the more mainstream pop he was producing at the time. Titles include "Illusions Of My Childhood", "Eleanor Rigby", "Ticket To Ride", "Bang Bang", "She's Not There", "Take Me For A Little While", and "You Keep Me Hanging On". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of surprising brilliance – recorded late in the career of Yes, but one of the group's biggest hits ever! And while we've always been fans of Anderson, Squire, & Co, we're also ready to admit that the real star here is Trevor Horn – who produced the album and put the whole thing together with the kind of choppy feel as his best early productions for ZTT, especially work by Art Of Noise. The album's "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" still has a great resonance to our ears as a street-grooving number from the electro years – even despite its chart and radio fame at the time – and other tracks on the album follow in a nicely similar groove. Other titles include "Hold On", "It Can Happen", "Cinema", "Leave It", "Our Song", "City of Love", and "Hearts". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter, James Brown, Percy Sledge, Joe Tex, and Isaac Hayes. CD

With selections by The Rascals, Bee Gees, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, Vanilla Fudge, and Iron Butterfly. LP, Vinyl record album

An early classic – vocals from Bon Scott, searing guitar from Angus, and titles that include "Whole Lotta Rosie", "Go Down", "Let There Be Rock", "Problem Child", "Overdose", "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be", and "Bad Boy Boogie". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Out of the wreckage of Cream came some very hip grooves! Ginger Baker was the hippest of the group's 3 members – and although he's often credited by soul fans for his work with Fela, he should also get hats off for his work with the group Air Force. At its base, the group's in the jazz rock mode – with players that include Brit jazz luminaires Phil Seamen, Harold McNair, and Graham Bond, plus rockers like Baker, Steve Winwood, Denny Laine, and Rick Grech. The tracks are all long groovers in a post-beat group mode – and the best tracks have a jamming sound that's pretty over the top. Titles include "Da Da Man", "Aiko Biaye", "Do What You Like", "Doin It", and "Don't Care". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the superest of the late 60s supergroups – with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Grech! Titles include "Had To Cry Today", "Presence Of The Lord", "Do What You Like", "Sea Of Joy", and "Well All Right". LP, Vinyl record album

Blue Magic getting a bit bolder than before – adding in some heavier funk that takes them past the mellow moments of their earliest years – yet still serving up some great harmonies in the process! The change is a subtle one – heard on some of the album's more hard-grooving tracks, which also bring in some full arrangements that echo the trippy feel of the cover – yet which still always respect that slight heartbreaking undercurrent of the group's great vocals, thanks to arrangements from Bobby Eli! Just about every moment from Blue Magic is totally great, and this album is no exception – with titles that include "Freak N Stein", "Mother Funk", "To Get Love", "See The Bedroom", "Summer Snow", "Making Love To A Memory", and "Spark Of Love". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Ahhhhhhhhhh . . . Freak Out! What can we say? The cut's a monster – silly to be sure, but still with a choppy dancefloor groove that gets 'em every time! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Brilliant early work from Bobby Darin – a set that was a key moment in his turning from a rocker into a more serious jazz singer! The set features impeccable arrangements from Richard Wess – on tunes that include his classic versions of "Mack The Knife" and "Beyond The Sea" – plus "Some Of These Days", "Through A Long & Sleepless Night", and the really wonderful "Was There A Call From Me". CD

... CD

Massively beautiful work from the great Donny Hathaway! After two studio albums that had firmly put him on the map as one of the 70s best soul talents, Atco had the genius to have Donny record this live album before very enthusiastic crowds in Hollywood and New York. The result is one of the best soul albums ever – one that shows a totally different side of Donny, and which has him jamming with a smaller, hipper, jazz-oriented group in long versions of some of his best tracks. Features a massive 12 minute version of "The Ghetto", which has loads of excellent instrumental breakdowns, a 13 minute version of "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)", a superior version of the track "Little Ghetto Boy", which was only ever on a soundtrack, and covers of "What's Going On" and "Jealous Guy" that really transform them from the original versions. Very similar to the classic Curtis Mayfield 2LP live set on Curtom – and with a similar "Chicago studio soulster goes jazzy and intimate" feel. LP, Vinyl record album

The album that rocked a million dorm rooms back in the 60s – and for good reason, too – given that the title track is a side-long, totally jamming monster – the kind of track that was really revolutionary at the time, and which still has a hell of an impact all these many years later! "In A Gadda Da Vida" was shortened to a single – with the big hook intact – but this classic album version runs for 17 minutes in length, and has the group doing all these cool jams with their instruments – all the animals in the garden of Eden talking to each other (or at least that's what our addled teenaged minds always thought!) Shorter tracks are mighty nice too – a heady, heavy brew of Hammond and fierce guitar from Erik Brann, on cuts all penned by group leader Doug Ingle. Titles include "Termination", "My Mirage", "Flowers & Roses", and "Most Anything You Want". LP, Vinyl record album

An instant groove from King Curtis – and a record that's even more deeply soulful than some of his other Atlantic albums! The title cut's a killer – a hard-vamping number that pushed funk further into the mainstream back in the day – and lots of the rest of the album follows suit, by bringing in some of the rougher King Curtis edges that usually only showed up on b-sides of 45s – while other full albums usually focused on sweeter sounds. There's a few of those here too – but even those tracks have a looser, more personal feel than before – not as much "perfect" soul sax, and a bit more grit. Arrangements are by Arif Mardin and King Curtis – and Duane Allman plays guiter on some cuts! Titles include "The Weight", "Sing A Simple Song", "Instant Groove", "Hey Jude", "Games People Play", "La Jeanne", and "Foot Pattin". LP, Vinyl record album

The incredible second album from Roxy Music – a record that's even more focused on the group's unique vision than the first – and a set that grabs your ears and blows you away from the very first note! These guys are completely in their own genre here – not art rock, nor glam, nor prog – although all the different members of the group could handle those styles, and plenty more – yet choose to work here in territory that's still brilliant and unique after the passage of decades! The progression of the album is amazing – from the catchy leadoff track "Do The Strand", to the tale of lost love with a sex doll in "Every Dream Home A Heartache", to the almost-funky "Bogus Man", the proto-punk "Editions Of You", and the swirling hypnotic extended closer of "For Your Pleasure". A masterpiece through and through! CD

Roxy Music's third album, and a record that really shows that the group have found a tremendous voice of their own – quite a thing to do, given the heady brew of records that were coming out in the year of 1973! There's a style here that's familiar enough to draw the listener in – maybe some echoes of territory you might hear in work from David Bowie, Lou Reed, John Cale, or the now-solo Brian Eno – but once inside, you find yourself in a completely different world – a mad blend of guitars and strings, saxophones and electronics, all used in these ways that are tuneful enough to be catchy, but also deeply unsettling too – as are the lead vocals of Bryan Ferry, who comes across like some older European singer who's been let out of the madhouse for the sessions. This isn't a singles-heavy record, but instead an album-length journey that never gets old, even as the years move on – and which is as powerful to new ears discovering the record for the first time as to longtime fans. Titles include "Street Life", "Just Like You", "Amazona", "Psalm", "Serenade", "A Song For Europe", "Mother Of Pearl", and "Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Rory Gallagher's finest moments! Titles include "What's Going On", "Railway & Gun", "Morning Sun", "Eat My Words", and "If I Don't Sing I'll Cry". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

... CD

Fantastic solo work from Ginger Baker – a musician who only seemed to get better and better the farther he moved away from Cream and Blind Faith! A set like this really gives Ginger a chance to open up and explore all the many musical currents that were grabbing his interests – served up here in a mix of jazz, funk, rock, and soul delivered by a lineup who are every bit as stunning as the music on the album! In addition to plenty of work from Baker on drums, the set features jazz contributions from the excellent Harold McNair and Chris Wood, who both play saxes and flute – plus drums from the legendary Phil Seamen – as well as a heck of a lot more sax and organ from Graham Bond, plus bass from Ric Grech, guitar and vocals from Denny Laine, organ and vocals from Steve Winwood, percussion from Neemoi Acquaye, and lots more contributions from a lineup that's almost too big to mention. The results are wonderful – and titles include "Toady", "Let Me Ride", "We Free Kings", "12 Gates Of The City", "Do U No Hu Yor Phrenz R", and "Sweet Wine". CD

The Baker Gurvitz Army maybe sounds better on Elysian Encounter than on their debut – partly because Ginger Baker and the Gurvitz brothers have really found their groove – but also because there's some great keyboard work on the set from Peter Lemer, who you might know from earlier jazz work too! Ginger's really wailing on drums and percussion – in a way that's somewhat different than both Cream, and his own records too – and those searing guitar lines from Adrian Gurvitz really help give the whole album a great sense of focus and power! Titles include "People", "The Key", "The Gambler", "The Dreamer", "The Hustler", and "The Artist". LP, Vinyl record album