An amazing document of one of the grooviest groups to emerge from the UK at the start of the 80s – not just their three full albums, but almost as much rare bonus material as well! The English Beat came a bit later than the initial wave of Two Tone ska revival groups – and they came with a difference, too – a bit more soul, and a slightly more contemporary approach to their music – one that pushed Jamaican roots into mod London modes – particularly the best sorts that were bubbling up in the post-punk generation! The group really helped revive some warmer sounds in British music – yet without just copying older modes from the other side of the Atlantic, too – and these three great albums definitely went onto set a fire in a host of other groups as well – the first wave of some surprisingly soulful moments from the UK in the 80s. The box set features the full albums I Just Can't Stop It, Wha'ppen, and Special Beat Service – all with bonus tracks not on the original albums. Then, the set also features more bonus material that includes 15 12" and dub versions of album tracks – and three Peel Session recordings from 1979, 1980, and 1982 – plus a live Boston recording from 1982! Comes in a great box, with a 24 page booklet of essays and rare photos! CD

Early bossa jazz from Sergio Mendes – recorded with his famous Bossa Rio combo, in the years before he moved to America! The album's a classic in Brazilian jazz – a tight album of bossa-inflected jazz tunes played with razor-sharp precision, handled with a style that went on to influence countless other Brazilian groups at the time. Mendes is in the lead on piano, and other players include Edison Machado on drums, Raul De Souza on trombone, and Hector Costita on tenor sax. The whole thing's great – a masterpiece of both jazz and bossa – and it's filled with classic tunes arranged by Jobim, Moacir Santos, and Sergio himself. Titles include "Nana", "Primitivo", "Desafinado", "Ela E Carioca", "Amor Em Paz", "Noa Noa", and "Neurotico". LP, Vinyl record album

An early 80s set from Cherry Red Records, and one that shows just how important the British label was to the world of post-punk music at the time – as you'll hear from an assortment of tracks that's more than enough to give labels like Factory or Rough Trade a run for their money! Cherry Red always had a way of thinking outside of the norm – mixing experimental sounds with more tuneful moments, and sometimes showcasing artists who weren't afraid to put their feelings on the line – at a level that other British indies would pick up more strongly a few years later. There's plenty of formative sounds here – and titles include "Plain Sailing" by Tracy Thorn, "My Face Is On Fire" by Felt, "No Noise" by Eyeless In Gaza, "Don't Blink" by The Nightingales, "Some Things Don't Matter" by Ben Watt, "Modi 2 (extract)" by Piero Milesi, "All About You" by Thomas Leer, "Portrait" by Five Or Six, "Eine Symphonie Des Grauens" by The Monochrome Set, "Lazy Ways" by The Marine Girls, "I Unseen" by The Misunderstood, and "On My Mind" by Everything But The Girl. This massive 3CD version of the collection is overflowing with great material – a whopping 72 tracks in all, 17 of which are unreleased, presented in a book-style package with plenty of notes! Added material includes work from The Nightingales, Kevin Coyne, The Passage, Monochrome Set, Jane, Five Or Six, Thomas Leer, Martyn Bates, Creation Rebel, The Reflections, Swallow Tongue, Bodhi Beat Poets, and even Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman of The Avengers! CD

One of the hippest entries in the Red Hot series so far – a set of tracks dedicated to the legendary Fela Kuti – felled by AIDS after years of influential grooves – still being felt strongly by the rich array of artists collected in the set! Most tracks are contemporary, but feature a strong influence of the 70s modes of Fela's generation – those sharp percussive lines at the bottom of the tracks, soaring Afro-styled horn passages, and a righteous energy that really drives the whole thing all the way through! The package was put together in support of AIDS/HIV awareness, but is hardly an act of charity – as it's overflowing with great cuts that more than make the set stand as an Afro Funk collection on its own. Most tracks are remakes of older Fela numbers – and titles include "Buy Africa" by Baloiji & L'Orchestre De A Katuba, "Yellow Fever" by Spoek Mathambo & Zaki Ibrahim, ""Gentleman" by Just A Band & Baja, "Go Slow" by King, "Sorro Tears & blood" by Kronos Quartet & Kyp Malone, "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am" by My Morning Jacket, "Afrodisco Beat 2013" by Tony Allen & M1, and "Lady" by Tune Yards, ?uestlove, and Angelique Kidjo. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent 2nd volume to this killer set of tracks pulled from the Warner and Atlantic catalogs during the glory days of their soul and funk years! This volume's even more interesting than the first one – and features a huge bunch of cuts that have never been reissued, either on proper or improper reissues (if you know what we mean, wink wink!) As with the first volume, this one focuses on funky material that can or should be sampled – and there's plenty of nice breaks to go around for everyone! Tracks include "Wanaoh" by Black Heat, "Rien Ne Va Plus" by Funk Factory, "Right On" by Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers, "Giggin Down 103rd" by Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, "Sandy's Love" by Harold Alexander, "Funky" by Freddie King, "South Street Soul" by Freddie Hubbard, "It's Your Thing" by Shirley Scott, "Magnificent Sanctuary Band" by Donny Hathaway, "Teasin" by King Curtis, "Almendra" by Macondo, "Soul Flow" by Paul Kelly, "Gang Bang" by Oscar Brown Jr, and "Get Ready" by Ella Fitzgerald. CD

Lots of beats and breaks – and the groove is a lot less mellow than you'd guess from the title! Tracks are pulled from some of the coolest indie labels of the 70s – Brunswick, HDH, and Salsoul – and the focus is on tracks that have lots of heavy drums and sharp changes – of the sort that were sampled heavily back in the day, but which also make for a nice batch of upbeat soul numbers too! Yet the collection is way more than just a sample-based collection of soul – as most of these numbers are pretty unusual, and not the kind of soul tracks that show up often on other compilations – and they link together surprisingly well, given the different sources from Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Titles include "Girl I Need You" by The Artistics, "I'm Bugging Your Phone" by The Smith Connection, "Seeing You Through The Eyes Of A Blindman" by Satisfaction Unlimited, "Lovin You Is Killin Me" by Moment Of Truth, "Where Will It End (Walter Gibbons mix)" by Love Committee, "I Got It" by New York Port Authority, "Love Factory" by Eloise Laws, "Breakaway" by First Choice, "Taster Of The Honey" by The Jones Girls, and "You Don't Have To Go (edit)" by The Chi-Lites. CD

Really mindblowing work from Fela – a seminal 70s set that may well open up even more than any other album from the time – as the leader and Africa 70 stretch out on a single track that takes up the entire record! "Confusion" is almost proggish at the start – with a long passage that just features drums from Tony Allen and some really offbeat electric piano from Fela – slowly building up a groove out of the darkness, then letting the rest of the group come into the mix – all at a level that definitely sets the tune on fire for the righteous politics of the lyrics! The whole thing's no sloppy, over-extended jam – and instead, the record's a great demonstration of the care and craft that Fela brought to his musical vision at the time. LP, Vinyl record album

The highly anticipated solo album from Def Jux CEO and Company Flow vet El-Producto is all that and a bucket of black hole warp speed 9 intensity. Excellent, dark, space age, new millennial hip hop.. This album flows from many songs without breaks between them, with jagged, scattered beats and lush synth-scapes. At points it sounds very cinematic, yet very grounded in thick, pounding break beats. The whole thing is produced by El-P himself, with Rhyme Sayer Entertainment's DJ Abilities on all the scratching, with many Def Jux guests like Aesop, Lif, CamuTao, and Vast. Ill Bill, C Rayz Walz, Rob Sonic, and Cage also make appearances. Songs include "Deep Space 9mm" with the raw Rawkus dis, "Tuned Mass Damper" with awesome scream samples, "Dead Disnee", "Delorean", the biting "Stepfather Factory", "Lazerfaces' Warning", "Constellation Funk" and more! 3LPs! LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking lost Afrobeat LP! According to the notes EMI turned this album down when it was recorded in 1971, and we can't imagine what they were thinking – as the set features two lengthy tracks that follow in the best Africa 70s mode! The title track "Why Black Men Dey Suffer" rolls along at a nice midtempo groove – with lots of great Fender Rhodes before the horns come in and blow things over the top! The flipside features "Ikoyi Mentality Versus Mushin Mentality" – which picks up the pace a bit, but still with plenty of room for syncopated percussion, crisp guitar, and electric piano lines – all topped with bold horn lines that urge the tune onto greatness! LP, Vinyl record album

Legendary jazz drummer William Hooker is in some pretty heady territory here – improvising alongside two different guitarists, both of whom really push the sound in ways that are different than some of Hooker's other records! Thurston Moore provides plenty of freaky sonic fuzz in the first half – and Elliott Sharp is pictured playing a twin-necked guitar in the second – both players who are no strangers to longform improvisation, and whose energy is easily met, if not beaten, but Hooker's incredible command of the drum Kit! The track with Moore is titled "Sirius" – and the one with Sharp is "The Hat & Its Train". LP, Vinyl record album

Seun Anikulapo Kuti returns with another strorming set of neo classic Afro Funk in the great tradition of his father – once again fronting the incredible Egypt 80 group! It's remarkable stuff that finds Seun – the youngest son of Fela – standing up as a visionary talent. He's not only living up to an immense legacy, but moving forward with it in ways that will absolutely stand the test of time. The insistent rhythms and intense energy of the Egypt 80 group – led by Lekan Animashaun – are Afrobeat perfection, with Seun's forthright vocals out front of it. But their approach here is anything but a retread of family glories. The songs are urgent and fierce, and there are subtle modern florishes in the production – thanks in part, no doubt, to co-producer Brian Eno. Titles include "African Soldier", "You Can R Un", "Rise", "Slave Masters", "For Dem E Ye", "The Good Leaf" and "Giant Of Africa". CD

An overlooked electronic gem from the Factory Records scene – the third album by Section 25, done in a style that's completely different than the group's other work! The sound here is extremely stripped-down – very much in the mode of New Order's first few singles, with a love of electric beats and keys, turned towards simple Brit pop themes done with nice hints of darkness. There's almost a post-Kraftwerk sound to the whole thing – like filtering "Computer Love" and "Tour De France" into catchier, more upbeat territory – yet without losing any of their quality or charm. And as a whole, the album works wonderfully – sliding from one track to the next, and making for an incredibly held-together set that was rare for the time. Tracks include "The Process", "Looking From A Hilltop", "Reflection", "Prepare To Live", "Program For Light", "Desert Beneath The Blade", and "Inspiration". LP, Vinyl record album

Really mindblowing work from Fela – a seminal 70s set that may well open up even more than any other album from the time – as the leader and Africa 70 stretch out on a single track that takes up the entire record! "Confusion" is almost proggish at the start – with a long passage that just features drums from Tony Allen and some really offbeat electric piano from Fela – slowly building up a groove out of the darkness, then letting the rest of the group come into the mix – all at a level that definitely sets the tune on fire for the righteous politics of the lyrics! The whole thing's no sloppy, over-extended jam – and instead, the record's a great demonstration of the care and craft that Fela brought to his musical vision at the time. The Gentleman LP is represented here by 3 songs – "Gentleman", "Igbe (Shit)", and "Fe Fe Naa Efe" – all of which are brimming with angry energy, and a heavy brassy overdrive! Loads of African funk grooves, packed onto one superbly done CD! CD

The dawn of the 90s uberclassic from Manchester's Happy Mondays – a mix of bright, neo psych pop songcraft, trippy dancefloor inspired beats and heady lyrics – standing strong to this day, both because of AND in spite of the band's hedonistic reputation. Like a number of their peers at the time, Happy Mondays blended late 60s psychedelic pop influences with profoundly modern dancefloor sounds, but something about their take on the style REALLY transcends. Includes the forever great single "Step On", one of the most imitated songs of the early 90s, plus "Kinky Afro", "God's Cop", "Loose Fit", "Dennis & Lois", "Bob's Yer Uncle", "Holiday", "Donovan" and "Harmony". CD

The continuing genius of this really wonderful series – just about the only way you'll get to hear this wealth of work from the UK electro scene of the early 80s – most of which was only released on cassette at the time! These tracks follow strongly on the electronic sounds of scenes like Sheffield or Manchester – work that's much more underground than material by groups like New Order or Cabaret Voltaire – with maybe more of the darkness of the latter in their earliest days, and a continuing legacy to the starker, minimal modes – even when the songs have a bit of vocals. Perhaps a strong comparison might be the turn that Section 25 too with their classic From The Hip album on Factory – and titles include "Danse Electrique" by Beatmixer, "Going Out" by Silicon Valley, "Start Of Something" by Berserk In A Hayfield, "World Perfect (edit)" by WeR7, "I'll Get You For This" by Mystery Plane, and "Train" by Echophase". CD

Way more than just the Doo Wop promised in the title – as the set starts with raw harmony work of the 50s, then moves up to include a whole bunch of 60s soul too! The set's a great overview of the evolution of vocal group modes during these crucial years in American music – and some familiar hits are mixed up nicely with lesser-known gems – showing that the compilers really used their heads to put the package together. There's a total of 60 tracks in all, plus a nice booklet too – and titles include "I Believe" by The Earls, "For Sentimental Reasons" by The Cleftones, "The Girl I Love" by The Cadillacs, "I Count The Tears" by The Drifters, "A Casual Look" by The Six Teens, "Down On My Knees" by The Heartbeats, "Out Of Sight" by The Five Keys, "Come Back My Love" by The Cardinals, "Bad Boy" by The Jive Bombers, "Sixty Minute Man" by The Dominoes, "Little Darlin" by The Diamonds, "Lonely Way" by The Skyliners, "The Angels Listened In" by The Crests, "A Wonderful Dream" by The Majors, "Let Me In" by The Sensations, "Smoky Places" by The Corsairs, and "Wish You Were Mine" by The Fireflies. CD