An excellent 3CD compilation of slept on Ninja Tune cuts – a diverse batch of tracks that go back about a decade to collect rarities, should-be classics and some unreleased material from the Ninja Tune canon – nearly 50 tracks in all! Funky club, stuttering left field glitch hop, folky electronic grooves, and riotous remixes galore! Includes tracks by Diplo, Blockhead, Spank Rock, Coldcut, The Heavy, Sixtoo, Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva and many more. Includes "Blazin" by Ghislain Poirier feat Face-T (Modeselektor rmx), "Fair Weather Friends" by Daedelus, "Donkey Ride" by Mr Scruff & Quantic, "Epistemology Suite 1 – Don't Fall" by Diplo, "Bloodstone" by Amon Tobin, "Chin High (Manuvadelics version)" by Roots Manuva, "Inside The Globe" by Airborn Audio, "Just For The Kick" by Coldcut, "Around The World" by Death Set, "Again With The Subtitles" by Yppah, "Atomic Moog" by Coldcut (Qemists rmx), "The Chart" by Super Numeri, "Melted Crayons" by Fog, "Sunday Seance" by Blockhead, "Say Goodbye" by Bigg Jus and tons more! CD

Bunny Sigler's backing band moves firmly into the mode of 80s groove – working that bass heavier than before, popping the strings through a mix of tracks that fall very much in a post P-Funk mode, with some slight touches of the group's older disco leanings. Titles include "Easy Come Easy Go", "Blazin", "No Stoppin That Rockin", "Who Took Away The Funk", "Smack Dab In The Middle", and "I'll Be Good To You". LP, Vinyl record album

Soulful hip hop from the duo of Blu & Exile – and one of the tightest releases yet on the Sound In Color label! Exile's production brings a heavy mood while still rolling out catchy and funky beats – while Blu's busy, reflective rhymes flow with the best of them. Solid stuff! Titles include "My World Is", "The Narrow Path", "So(ul) Amazin' (Steel Blazin')", "Juicen' Dranks" feat Ta'Raach, "In Remembernce Of Me", "Blu Colla Workers", "Dancin In The Rain", "First Things First" feat Miguel Jontel, "No Great Lvove", "Show Me The Good Life" feat Aloe Blacc & Joseph, "Simply Amazin'", "You Are Now In The Clouds With (The Koochie Monstas)" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

DJ Kawasaki has given the world plenty of great club tracks over the years – but here, he reworks his music in a variety of different styles – sometimes funk, sometimes soul, sometimes a bit of jazz – all with a level of expression that really takes us back to that moment when the Japanese scene was really crossing over with American soul! The vibe here is much richer than if you've just caught some of Kawasaki's tracks floating around the digital world – and the whole thing works really well as a whole – with guest work from Bird, N'Dea Davenport, Karin, and others – on titles that include recreations of the tunes "I'm So On Your Mind", "Let The Music Play", "Shooting Star", "Blazin", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Bright Like Light", "So Far Away", and "Planetary Track". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut of Nicki Minaj – a record that's issued in a much longer legacy than some might have thought at the time! The charms of Nicki are well-known, and we hardly need to recount them here – but that take-charge quality of her work still comes through loud and clear after all these years – a standard-setting mode that even overshadows the album's guest appearances by giants like Kanye, Drake, Rihanna, Eminem, and Will I Am! Titles include "I'm The Best", "Roman's Revenge", "Check It Out", "Blazin", "Here I Am", "Dear Old Nicki", "Last Chance", "Your Love", "Fly", "Moment 4 Life", "Right Thru Me", and "Save Me". 3LP version features a full record of bonus tracks – including "Bedrock", "Girls Fall Like Dominoes", "Catch Me", "Super Bass", "Muny", "Blow Ya Mind", "Wave Ya Hand", and "Roman's Revenge" with Lil Wayne. LP, Vinyl record album

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A huge moment for Blackalicious – a group who'd been gaining plenty of cred on the underground, and who reached out to a much bigger set of ears with this major label debut! The whole thing's top-shelf through and through – superb production from Chief Xcel next to the words from Gift of Gab and Chief Excel – alongside a host of guests including Quannum mainmasts Lyrics Born, Lateef, and Joyo – as well as Dilated People's Raka and Babu, Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist and Chali 2na – and even work from Gil Scott-Heron and Ben Harper too! Clearly, someone had enough faith in the group to give them the money to realize their dream – and that faith definitely pays off here – on titles that include the classic single "Make You Feel That Way" – plus "Blazing Arrow", "4000 Miles", "Paragraph President", "First In Flight", "Purest Love", "Sky Is Falling", "It's Going Down", "Release (parts 1, 2, & 3)", and "Chemical Calisthenics". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge moment for Blackalicious – a group who'd been gaining plenty of cred on the underground, and who reached out to a much bigger set of ears with this major label debut! The whole thing's top-shelf through and through – superb production from Chief Xcel next to the words from Gift of Gab and Chief Excel – alongside a host of guests including Quannum mainmasts Lyrics Born, Lateef, and Joyo – as well as Dilated People's Raka and Babu, Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist and Chali 2na – and even work from Gil Scott-Heron and Ben Harper too! Clearly, someone had enough faith in the group to give them the money to realize their dream – and that faith definitely pays off here – on titles that include the classic single "Make You Feel That Way" – plus "Blazing Arrow", "4000 Miles", "Paragraph President", "First In Flight", "Purest Love", "Sky Is Falling", "It's Going Down", "Release (parts 1, 2, & 3)", and "Chemical Calisthenics". CD

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A lost classic from one of the greatest Brazilian sax players ever! Paulo handled all the arrangements himself, and the group's an all star one that features Pascoal Meirelles on drums, Wagner Tiso on piano, Luiz Carlos on bass, plus additional tenor sax, trumpet, and trombone next to Moura's alto sax. The set's a beautiful batch of warmly painted tunes – awash with color and life, showing both Moura's talent for lyrical interplay, and his tendency to blow in edgier styles. Titles include "Travessia", "No Brilho Da Faca", "General Da Banda", "Outubro", "Nem Precisou Mais Um Sol", and "Das Tardes Mais Sos". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer cop/crime music from the Italian scene of the 70s – a famous genre soundtrack from composer Armando Trovajoli, who's usually known for his work in warmer, sexier styles! The grooves here are right up there with the best that Italy has to offer from the time – full, jazzy backings that often have a bit of keyboards or guitars amidst the larger horns – and rhythms that manage to sound tightly compressed, despite the larger arrangements – in ways that help keep things sounding nice and lean. Trovajoli adds in isolated instruments at the best moments – particularly some woodwind bits that snake along with warmly melodic touches, or keyboards used in spare and subtle ways – and each track seems to offer up a fresh approach to the sound, making for a well-balanced batch of tracks that's far from cliche! Titles include "The Puzzle Is Completed", "A Very Strange Party", "Theme For A Murderer", "Louise", "Tony's Magnum", "Who Killed Louise", and "Black Pearl Necklace". LP, Vinyl record album

The "air" here might well refer to the charged atmosphere in the arena during the live show that makes up this set from Be Bop Deluxe – a nice summation of everything that Bill Nelson and the group had done on their studio classics from the mid 70s, maybe stripped-down here a bit away from the studio! Yet somehow, the music also has that wonderful sense of compression that the group always got – a way of layering the sound at a level that's maybe post-glam, pre-punk, and without some of the fuller trappings of ELO, with more of a focus on the guitar. The whole approach holds up surprisingly well on stage – and titles include "Shine", "Fair Exchange", "Sister Seagull", "Blazing Apostles", "Life In The Air Age", and "Ships In The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice bit of funky crime work from Italy – a soundtrack to an obscure payback film from the 70s, done here with a nice mix of heavy beats, tight guitar, and some cool keyboards! The groove here is very much in the style of some of the best compilations of Italian cop soundtrack work we've stocked – and unlike some other thrillers of the time, the set's overflowing with funky tracks, so that you get way more than just a few funky numbers for your money! The blazing image on the cover is a great idea of what you'll hear inside – and titles include "Drivin All Around", "Goodbye My Friend", and "Il Cittadino Si Rebella". CD

Little Richard doing his much imitated, never bettered thing on the Fabulous Little Richard LP – released near the end of the 50s and featuring emotive r&b numbers he cut in earlier sessions – not all as wild-eyed and fiery as some of his 50s recordings but a soulful thrill! The album does feature a few of the more blazing classics, but all in all, this one demonstrates Richard's versatility more than some of his 50s work. Fabulous tracks from true legend! Includes "Shake A Hand", "Chicken Little Baby", "All Night Long", "Lonesome & Blue", "Kansas City", Maybe I'm Right", "I'm Just A Lonely", "Whole Lotta Shaking Going On", "I'm Just A Lonly Guy" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Really early work from the legendary Derrick Morgan, and a set that was one of the earliest full length sets in the Island Records catalog – the start of a legendary run of Jamaican music, with proof that Morgan was one of the originators who was there at the start! As you might guess from his look on the cover, Derrick is working in a ska-based mode on the set – but he's also drawing plenty from American soul for inspiration too – wonderful vocals that float in a dreamy way over the tight-stepping rhythms in the tunes! There's a few cuts that feature duets with Patsy Todd – and titles include "The Hop", "Look Before You Leap", "Last Chance", "Don't You Worry", "Blazing Fire", "Housewife's Choice", "Don't Be A Fool", and "It's True My Darling". CD features a massive amount of bonus tracks – 46 titles added to the original record, some from The Best Of Derrick Morgan, many of which are new to CD too. Titles include "Real Ring Ding", "Revenge", "Try Me", "Greedy Gal", "Don't Say", "Horse Dead Cow Fat", "Sunday Morning", "Gypsy Woman", "Be Still", "Corner Stone", "Sail On", "Tell It To Me", "Loving Baby", and lots lots more! CD

One of the first great moments of the Munich disco scene of the 70s – an electric batch of soul served up in support of Donna Summer's landmark title hit! The set features the full 16 minute version of "Love To Love You Baby" – done as a monumental suite that dips, turns, slinks, and slides alongside Summer's sexy vocals beautifully. As with that track, Giorgio Moroder arranged the others on the set as well – along with tunes in more of a straightforward soul approach for the time. In retrospect, that was a totally brilliant approach – trailblazing on one hand, and saleable to the mainstream on the other! Other titles include "Need A Man Blues", "Full Of Emptiness", "Whispering Waves" and "Pandora's Box". LP, Vinyl record album

Blazing 60s & 70s string-shredding mastery from Japan's great guitar instrumentals guru Takeshi Terauchi – whose playing matches the greatest 50s & 60s rock guitar gurus in both dexterous ability and pulpy mood setting! Takeshi put his own unique spin on the chugging styles of the period – hard-charging twang, surf and beat in the 60s, and distorted spacey and funky rock later on in the 70s – all of it pretty amazing! Includes "Ganroku Hanami Odori", "Rising Stars", "Sado Okesa", "The Clamour Of The Sun", "South Pier" and "Summer Boogaloo" by Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys, plus "Hoshi Eno Tabeji (Journey To The Stars", "Sa No Sa", "Touryanse", "Nambuzaka Yuki No Wakare", "Tsugaru Eleki Bushi" and many more by Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans. 25 tracks on the CDversion. CD

A classic run of records from Waylon Jennings – brought together in a single package! First up is Lonesome Onry & Mean – a pivotal album for Waylon Jennings – the record where he really found the new direction that would finally get him the fame he deserved – delivered in a way that's free from all the later cliches, and which also ties Waylon pretty strongly to the hipper currents of the underground – especially that point where singer/songwriter genius intersected with country! The production is his own, and vastly different than the late 60s records – even though we love those to death too – and that magical Jennings vocal approach does fantastic things to tunes by Steve Young, Mickey Newbury, Kris Kristofferson, and others! Titles include the fantastic "Lonesome Onry & Mean", plus "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues", "Freedom To Stay", "Lay It Down", "You Can Have Her", "Pretend I Never Happened", "San Francisco Mabel Joy", "Sandy Sends Her Best", and a great take on "Me &Bobby McGee". Honky Tonk Heroes is genius material from Waylon Jennings – one of those career-defining records from the early 70s that completely put him on top, and heralded a whole new generation in country music! The set's maybe equally noteworthy as a showcase for the up-and-coming Billy Joe Shaver, who wrote much of the songs on the record – and it's also a great showcase for the important production talents of Tompall Glaser, who really gets the spirit of the music right! Titles include great versions of "Honky Tonk Heroes", "Old Five & Dimers Like Me", "Ride Me Down Easy", "Black Rose", "Willy The Wandering Gypsy & Me", "Omaha", and "Ain't No God In Mexico". This Time is one of those Waylon Jennings records from a time when he could do no wrong – fighting the stronger powers at RCA to really find his voice – recording at the studio of Tompall Glaser, with great production help from Willie Nelson – who was enjoying his own transformation at the time too! As with the previous two gems from this period, the choice of material and presentation is great – songs by Willie, JJ Cale, and Billy Joe Shavers – in a set of titles that include "Heaven Or Hell", "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way", "This Time", "Pick Up The Tempo", "If You Could Touch Her At All", "Walkin", "Slow Rollin Low", "Louisiana Woman", and "Slow Movin Outlaw". Ramblin Man is Waylon Jennings at peak mid 70s perfection! Ramblin' Man fits in stylistically with the gruff honky tonk hero mode he first fully realized a couple albums earlier, but he's still fiercely blazing trails here, pairing his gruff lead vocals with sweeter female harmonies on some tracks, changing the groove from laidback swagger to fast-paced honky tonk, working in some tender ballads with the gruffer numbers...Waylon at his best. Starts up with the eternal title track and equally classic "Rainy Day Woman" and hardly lets up in greatness from there, with "Cloudy Days", "The Hunger", "It'll Be Her", a great cover of the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider", "Memories Of You And Me", "Amanda" and more. Features bonus tracks too – "Laid Back Country Picker", "The Last One To Leave Seattle", "Big Big Love", "Got A Lot Going For Me", "The Last Letter", and "The One I Sing My Love Songs To". CD

One of the best albums by offbeat jazz singer Annette Peacock – one with a loose, very innovative vibe in arrangements – with some pretty darn cool electronics! Annette not only has a strong voice, she's fearlessly creative in her use of it – and on this album, her vocals are often processed through the electronics – in a way that's a good decade ahead of the curve, but never in a way that never denigrates her strength as a singer! At times, she's screaming like Betty Davis in a funky mode, at others she's getting raw and dirty in a Tom Waits vein, and at others she presages 80s club oddities like Klaus Nomi! Somehow these divergent modes work together, making this one of the most unique and trailblazing albums of Annette's career! Includes the funky break track "Pony", a pretty compelling number, plus "I'm The One", "Been & Gone", "Love Me Tender", "Blood", "One Way", "Gesture Without Plot", "Did You Hear Me Mommy?" and "7 Days". CD

The third Ramones album, one that a sizeable chuck of the most zealous fans believes to be their very best – and they might be right! As rightfully heralded as the self-titled debut is for being the trailblazing blast and unimpeachable punk rock epiphany that it is, The Ramones really their found and perfected their signature studio sound on the follow up Leave Home and perhaps perfect it here Rocket To Russia. Song by song, they somehow concentrate 30 years of the best, rawest, most exciting rock & roll of their forbears into two and a half minutes of beautiful primal energy that still manages to qualify as ear candy. As amazing as ever! Tracks include "Rockaway Beach", "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker", "Why Is It Always This Way", "Surfin Bird", "Do You Wanna Dance", and "Cretin Hop". LP, Vinyl record album

Lou Reed at his mid 70s live peak! Volumes have already been and will continue to be written about Lou's output in the 70s, and rightly so. This set is particularly amazing in that it follows the artful highpoint/financial failure that is Berlin – so Lou is doing the rock & roll star thing here, kinda given the people what they want in a way. What's so amazing here is that it doesn't feel like a cash-in, it's crazy good and geniunely passionate stuff! The blazing guitars don't hurt, nor does the fact the the set is heavy with Velvets-era faves. Includes "Intro/Sweet Jane", "Heroin", "White Light/White Heat", "Lady Day" and "Rock N' Roll". LP, Vinyl record album

A pre-punk bit of charged, hard grooving Motor City rock from Death – a lost record that takes a tightly coiled, blazing approach to their influences of garage rock and psychedelia – and a record that's all the better in that it was recorded way back in 1975! To put it bluntly, music didn't really sound like this in '75 – and it would be as easy to label the sound as something like, "mid 70s Detroit African American precursor to Husker Du", etc, but this is a honestly a pretty remarkable album for its time that we don't want to trivialize it with a lazy nutshell description. The group does distill their influences in a way that's reminiscent of some midwestern post punk, but Death is pre-punk, making it a really fascinating record, and a blast to crank up in your headphones! Titles include "Keep On Knocking", "Rock-N-Roll Victim", the longer, seemingly Arthur Lee influenced "Let The World Turn" (eventually nailing a fiercer sound the likes of which Love never messed with), "You're A Prisoner", "Freakin Out", "Where Do We Go From Here???" and "Politicians In My Eyes". 7 songs, 27 minutes, and pretty awesome. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic late 80s underground rock from Dinosaur Jr – creaky, emotional vocals and blazing, yet raw guitars – you can definitely hear in this record the sound that was going to bust into the mainstream in a huge way several years later. It's pretty amazing to think that what Dino Jr was doing pretty much alone in 1988 was going to take over the world a few years later, and with a bunch more years of hindsight, Bug still stands strongly. Includes "Freak Scene", "No Bones", "Let It Ride", "They Always Come", "Budge", Pond Song", "Yeah We Know", "The Post" and "Don't". CD

The first album in Dylan's so-called "Christian Period", but it's not really the uber-dramatic departure from the "old" Dylan that it was treated as at the time – gospel soul backing vocals and testifying lyricism for sure, but it sounds more like gospel has come to Dylan than it sounds like Dylan has "gone gospel". Slow Train Coming has a focused approach, ala Blood On The Tracks, even if this train doesn't come close to crossing over onto those particular tracks – and the return to a leaner, more focused vibe is welcome one. It's got stellar studio players in the mix, and producer Jerry Wexler's production touches on a soul sound, but smartly hews to Dylan's vocal style and lyrical focus. Dylan's high bar for a masterpiece given his trailblazing past didn't give this record or the following couple much a chance to succeed on their own merits back in the day, but all these years later...wow, this is really good, passionate stuff. Includes "Gotta Serve Somebody", "Precious Angel", "I Believe In You", "Slow Trait", "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking", "Do Right To Me Baby (Do Unto Others)", "When You Gonna Wake Up", "Man Gave Name To All The Animals", "When He Returns". Cassette

Paul McCartney is on the cover, and they even got him to sit for great interview to discuss 50 Years of "Band On The Run" – plus a free CD featuring a slew of great bands inspired by that classic album! Other great features including Jon Anderson on the trailblazing prop pedigree of Yes, a farewell to Shane MacGowan, African women singer supergroup Les Amazones D'Afrique and lots more – along with the usual motherlode of reviews and regular items. The CD Jet Powered Pop includes tracks by Teenage Fanclub, Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet, Lemon Twigs, Heatmiser, XTC, Shoes, The dBs, Those Pretty Wrongs, Nada Surf, Brendan Benson and others. Magazine