An interesting early album from Betty Carter – less jazz than some of her later work, but with a bit more of an edge than some of her ABC recordings. The album's got sort of an arranged sophisticated jazz style – in the mode of 60s work by Esther Phillips or Dinah Washington – and Betty handles some wonderful material with a dark edge, like "Two Cigarettes In The Dark", "Nothing More To Look Forward To", "Round Midnight", "I Wonder", "Who What Why Where When", and "The Good Life", all done in a sorrow-drenched style that's incredibly compelling, and a very different side to Betty's career. An album you'll be hard-pressed to find on vinyl – and nicely repacked for CD with 2 bonus cuts: "One Note Samba" and "Shine On Harvest Moon". CD

A psychedelic gem recorded at Gold Star Studios at the end of the 60s – one that brings a fair bit of British influences into play with the trippier sounds of the American underground of the time! This Atlantic debut by the group shows a tremendous amount of promise – and an approach to the music that sometimes takes on loftier ambitions through its use of bit of brass and reeds amidst the core keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums of the tunes. The songs are tight and sharp, but have some nice flourishes too – almost in the later Chad & Jeremy mode, with a real "British through LA" sort of sound. Titles include "RCMPB", "Don't", "Have You Ever", "To Be", "Sunrise #7", "Sparkle", and "Just Try". LP, Vinyl record album

The first four albums from this crucial group – along with four more CDs of rare live material too! First up is the self-titled Cactus – the first album from this legendary group – an important American hard rock powerhouse, driven by the famous rhythm duo of Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums – both of whom roll out of the gate here with amazingly frenetic energy! They're maybe only topped by the guitar work of Jim McCarty, whose searing lines are clearly learned from blues inspirations, then turned up in both speed and power – to match the vocals and harmonica of Rusty Day! There's nothing going on here that sounds like blues rock at all – even though the set begins with a cover of "Parchman Farm" – next to other titles that include "My Lady From South Of Detroit", "No Need To Worry", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", and "Let Me Swim". On One Way Or Another, Cactus are totally at the top of their game – and the guitar of Jim McCarthy really sets the record on fire, right from the very first note – at a level that should have made Jim one of the real guitar hero legends of his generation! Yet there's also power from the whole group going on too – tight rhythms from the team of Carmine Appice and Jim Bogert, the latter of whom starts to bring in his own vocals a fair bit more, offering backup to the raspy lead of Rusty Day. And while there's a few currents that show their older influence from blues, the sound here is massively hard rock all the way through – making the record a great illustration of the way that slavish blues rock gave birth to a fresh new jamming sound in a matter of just a few short years. Titles include "Rockout Whatever You Feel Like", "Song For Aries", "Feel So Bad", "Rock N Roll Children", and "Hometown Bust". Restrictions is next, and despite the title, there's no restrictions at all – as Cactus seem to be even more confident, more able to stretch their wings and fly than ever before – even adding in some extra piano and keyboards at points to the core guitar-heavy sound of the quartet! All the group's best elements are very firmly in place – searing guitar, righteously confident vocals, and a strutting sensibility that makes this early 70s album way ahead of the game in terms of territory that so many bigger groups would later copy for their own classic records. Titles include "Guiltless Glider", "Evil Alaska", "Sweet Sixteen", "Bag Drag", "Restrictions", and "Mean Night In Cleveland". Ot N Sweaty is a record that's got a bit of a shift in the classic Cactus lineup – as the group's still driven strongly by the work of Carmine Appice on drums and Tim Bogert on bass, but get guitar power from Werner Fritzschings, who's a pretty amazing player – next to some added keyboards from Duane Hitchings, and vocals from Peter French – a singer who's ballsy power might be even more in line with the group than their previous lead singer! The album's got an unusual approach in that side one was recorded live, side two in the studio – each with a nicely different flavor as a result – on titles that include "Swim", "Our Lil Rock N Roll Thing", "Bedroom Mazurka", "Telling You", "Bad Stuff", and "Bringing Me Down". 8CD set is overflowing with great material – bonus tracks added to three of the four albums in the collection, than a further 4CDs worth of live material – titled Fully Unleashed – The Live Gigs Vols 1 & 2. The live material is great – and really shows the tightness of the group at their best! CD

A great collection – rare 50s singles on Atco, mixed with previously-unreleased tracks – all with Eddie Guitar Slim Jones on vocals and guitar! Titles include "The Cackle", "If I Had My Life To Live Over", "Plenty Good Room", "Along Came Midnight", "Hello How Ya Been Goodbye", and "Down Through The Years" – plus two takes of "Guitar Slim Boogie". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include the classic "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" – plus "Big Balls", "Problem Child", "Ride On", "Squealer", "There's Gonna Be Some Rockin", "Love At First Feel", "Rocker", and "Ain't No Fun Waiting Round To Be A Millionaire". CD

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An amazing lost bossa jazz session – recorded in Brazil, issued in the US by Atlantic in 1962, and finally out on CD! Paulo Alencar's group is supposedly filled with "all stars", but the label fails to mention who they are. Whatever the case, though, the record's a strong one – and has a very similar feel to other early Brazilian jazz albums of this type, especially some of Sergio Mendes' instrumental combo albums. Titles include "West Samba", "It's Really Bossa", "Bossa No 2", "Where Was I", "Hello, America", and "Zirigidoom". CD

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One of the most widely-circulated albums from the second incarnation of Amon Duul – and one of the most striking as well! The set's got a bit more focus than some of their earlier efforts, but a sound that's still plenty darn trippy – with more carefully-constructed passages that bring in bits of strings and larger arrangements, but which still step aside for some colder, darker moments too. These guys maintain a complexity with their sound – so that if they go for a glammish moment one minute, they're soon breaking off into freakier territory the next – on titles that include "Liquid Whisper", "I Can't Wait (parts 1 & 2)", "Archy The Robot", "Lonely Woman", and "Explode Like A Star". LP, Vinyl record album

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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

It must have cost Barrabas plenty to make the heart-shaped manhole on the cover of this album – but given the sound of the grooves, the money was well worth it! The set's a fair bit tighter than their earliest work from Spain – but also a great direction for their styles – one that's nicely soulful, with some club funk touches that fit in nicely with their American contemporaries on the Atco label. The tracks have a strong New York groove – with loads of great keyboards from Juan Vidal, and plenty of heavy basslines by Ernesto Duarte – pumping nicely in a way that's more stomping than straight funk, but still pretty great. Vocals are best when they're floating down amidst the instrumentation – and titles include "Mellow Blow", "Family Size", "Make It Easy", "Checkmate", and "Take A Wild Ride". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Ain't She Sweet", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Take Some Insurance On Me Baby", and "Nobody's Child" by the Beatles; and "I Wanna Be Your Man", "She Loves You", "Please Please Me", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and more by The Swallows. LP, Vinyl record album

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Sublime sounds from The Bee Gees – a near-perfect bit of 60s pop, and a record that would set the scene for so many others to come! The vocals are what you've always known from the Bros Gibb, but the production is what really sends us – complicated, baroque, and filled with these completely compelling instrumental and studio twists that make the already-charming lyrics even more lovely! Titles include the classics "Holiday" and "Turn Of The Century" – plus "In My Own Time", "Red Chair Fade Away", "Close Another Door", and "To Love Somebody". CD

Early work from Black Oak Arkansas – from a time when the group had a slightly trippy sound and a lot more bite! LP, Vinyl record album

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A wild batch of jazz rock tunes – recorded by ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce, along with a host of like-minded luminaries that include Chris Spedding, Harry Beckett, Dick Heckstall-Smith, and John Hisemann. Unlike Bruce's first solo album – Things We Like – which was an all-jazz outing, this album features Bruce singing as well, and an overall approach that has more of a rock-based song structure – yet still many of the expansive styles embraced by the Brit jazz rock generation of the time. Titles include "Rope Ladder To The Moon", "Theme For An Imaginary Western", "Tickets To Water Falls", and "The Clearout". LP, Vinyl record album

The landmark first album from Buffalo Springfield – a warmly collaborative record that would set the scene for countless work to come from the LA scene! Right from the start, there's something special going on here – a bit of the twang the Byrds were exploring at the time, and a very strong move past any sort of folk tendencies any of the group members might have had a few years before – but all without going into some of the too-sunny styles that were peaking in west coast pop. Instead, there's this current of darkness and subtle wit that really shines through – all without any psychedelic indulgence, and balanced perfectly amidst the guitars of Steven Stills, Richie Furay, and Neil Young – each of whom get a chance to sing on the record too. Bassist Bruce Palmer and drummer Dewey Martin complete the group – and titles include the classic "For What It's Worth" – plus "Nowadays Clancy Can't", "Leave", "Pay The Price", "Burned", "Do I Have To Come Right Out & Say It", and "Everybody's Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album