The first album by the second group to call themselves the Last Poets – and as fierce a document of their rich talents as you'll ever find – bursting forth with anger and righteousness at a level as tight as Gil Scott-Heron's first album! The group here is the key second lineup of the ensemble of wordsmiths – comprised of Abiodun Oyewole, Alafia Pudim, and Omar Ben Hassan, plus the percussionist Nilaja – and most cuts feature only spare percussion backing over the spoken protest poetry – delivered with a brutal edge that really sums up the righteous politics of the time. Titles include "Run, N****r", "On The Subway", "When The Revolution Comes", "Jones Comin' Down", "Black Thighs", "N*****s Are Scared Of Revolution", and "Wake Up, N*****s" – all of which should give you a good picture of what's going on with the record! CD

A really great setting for the guitar of Mary Halvorson – one that reminds us what a versatile player she's become over the years – an artist whose way of inflecting strings and reaching for new colors really continues to amaze us with each new album! There's a very rhythmic pulse to the record – as Michael Formanek provides bass and Tomas Fujiwara plays drums – with the former also bringing in a bit of electronics, while the latter handles vibes – although both rarely diverge too much from the core, which really allows Halvorson to fly throughout. Titles include "Survival Fetish", "Song For Mr Humphries", "Capsicum Annuum", "Should Be Cool", "Brutality & Beauty", and "Swirling Lives". CD

A way way deeper set than the first volume of Bay Area Funk – and a collection that shows that things got pretty heavy on the San Francisco and Oakland scenes of the 70s! A good number of the tracks here are instrumental, and show some wonderful interplay between the trippier sides of funky jazz and the harder sides of soul going on in the Bay Area back in the day – killer music from the fringes that often got lost in the shuffle of all the better-known music coming out on the bigger labels! The work here is all from very tiny labels – expertly selected and all officially cleared by the Luv N Haight team with keen respect for the artists involved – and in a way, the package has set a new high standard for the label! A tremendous discovery, and filled with tracks we'd never heard before – titles that include "Stop Look Listen" by Primevil, "Poor Sad Child (part 1)" by The Windjammers, "Born To Live With Heartache" by Mary Love, "Move In The Room" by Dawn & Sunset, "Ebony" by Project Soul, "Acid Lady" by San Francisco TKOs, "Hip Breakin" by Little Denise Stevenson, "Devil's On The Run" by Uptights Band, "Brute Strength" by Mile Selesia, and "Lenient With My Love" by The Relatives. CD

Loads of 80s elements here – drum fills, post-punk guitars, keyboard bits, and more – all mixed up superbly from Dom Thomas – with the same sort of B-Music/Finders Keepers style we love in his other projects! There's plenty of bits here that seem familiar, but they're nicely turned up on their ear in Dom's hands – kind of a view back to the early 80s, but through a shifting set of filters that keeps confusing things in a nice way! Titles include "1979 Ludicrous", "Ghetto Sun", "After Midnight", "Electro Benelux", "Disco Patch Pop", "Desert Ode 2010", and "Cavernous Sinus". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Brian Bennett, David Lindup, Duncan Lamont, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The album that changed everything for Metallica – catapulting them from patron saints of unrelentingly heavy thrash metal to reluctant (at first, anyway) mainstream superstars! The production is glossier sounding than ever before, and whether that compromised the rawer brutality of their heaviest moments is debatable to this day – but that's countered by the slow-building, epic songcraft (the shortest one is over 5 minutes long), odd, and all around ambitiously structured material. Includes "Blackened", "Eye Of The Beholder", the game-changing "One", "Harvester Of Sorrow", "To Live Is To Die", "Dyers Eve" and more. CD

Amazing music from the depths of the Great Depression, but it's hardly a downer – this is a deeply felt collection of tunes by black & white singers and combos of the 20s & 30s that's cathartic, emotional, and a complete treasure trove! The songs are full of brutal beauty, tragedy, and some dark humor, especially when it gets to the murder ballads – and more than 30 of the 70 songs haven't been reissued before now! This is simply one of the very best sets of archival Americana since the epic CD releases of the Anthology Of American Folk Music. It's really that good! The discs are separated thematically – Man V Machine, Man V Nature, and Man V Man (And Woman, Too) – and titles include "Titanic Blues" by Hi Henry Brown & Charlie Jordan, "The Crash Of The Akron" by Bob Miller, "Wreck Of Old 97" by Skillet Lickers, "The Fatal Wreck Of The Blus" bu Mainer's Mountaineers, "The Story Of The Mighty Mississippi" by Ernest Stoneman, "When The Levee Breaks" by Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie, "The Death Of Floyd Collins" by Vernon Dalhart, "Peddler And His Wife" by Hayes Shepherd, "Frankie" by Dykes Magic City Trio, "Dupree Blues" by Willie Walker. 70 tracks on 3CDs! CD

Searing samba soul from Jorge Ben – one of his best-remembered albums of the 70s, and for good reason too! The album's got a slightly fuller feel than some of Ben's other work of the time – never slick, but with backings balanced nicely against his own raspy vocals and acoustic guitar – sweetening things up with a bit of the strings you'd find on Forca Bruta, but with a hint of the soul to come on Africa Brasil! The balance is great – thanks to arrangers Osmar Milito, Darcy De Paulo, and Hugo Bellard – and as usual, Jorge's vocals are the main attraction – dipping, turning, and rising with this really unique, personal feel – Ben-like brilliance at its brightest. The whole thing's wonderful – a key gem from the Philips years – and titles include "Cinco Minutos", "Zumbi", "Brother", "Os Alquimistas Estao Chegando Os Alquimistas", "Errare Humanum Est", "Menina Muler Da Pele Preta", "Hermes Tri", and "O Namorado Da Viuva". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from an artist we totally totally love – a really unique British singer and guitarist, and one who can effortlessly channel together so many different strands of music, and make them all come together like nobody else at all! Davy Graham draws here from Indian music, American blues, and even some up and coming styles in the folk underground – but the sound here is completely his own, and has a vibe that's as unique, and groundbreaking as some of the better-known British acoustic talents of his generation! Tremendous work throughout – on titles that include "Sunshine Raga", "Both Sides Now", "Electric Chair", "Blue Raga", "Beautiful City", "Tristano", "Bad Boy Blues", and "Bruton Town". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Prince certainly hit and run with this record – as the set was so secret, we couldn't even announce it until it was released! But the lack of advance fame certainly doesn't hold it back – as the whole thing is one of Prince's strongest efforts in years – a record that echoes lots of his 80s famous funk right at the start, then breaks out into a mode that's a lot more brash and almost brutal at times – as if the purple one's expressing anger and emotion we never would have heard in his music from years back! Everything is very much right on the money – vocals, instruments, and all the rhythms woven together with that magic that Prince first created decades ago – but with a fresher 21st Century spirit that still blows away most of the younger generation he's inspired. Titles include "Hardrocklover", "Fallinlove2nite", "Mr Nelson", "June", "Million $ Show", "Ain't About 2 Stop", and "This Could B Us". CD

As stated on the back cover – a selection of music as played in the lounges and Palm Courts of hotels during the 20s and 30s. LP, Vinyl record album

An unmitigated blast of punk, worthy of setting the stage for the American hard core movement! While punk rock had been firmly established by the time this album came out, no one was prepared for the next level that Black Flag would take things to with this brutal, nihilistic, stripped down assault on the status quo! A classic that will stand up for ages, wit fist in the air anthems like "Rise Above", "Six Pack", "What I See", "TV Party", "Police Story", "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie", "Thirsty & Miserable", "Depression", "Padded Cell", "Damaged I", "Damaged II", "Life Of Pain", "Room 103" and "No More". LP, Vinyl record album

A really deep dive into the lost legacy of Franklin Boukaka – a singer who really helped revolutionize music in the Congo during the 60s, recording a heck of a lot of great tracks before a brutal murder took him from the planet in the early 70s! At some level, the work here is to Congolese music what some of the more playful township songs were to the South African scene – a new style, but one that also had a really universal sort of appeal – contemporary and catchy, yet still nice and lean, and never overproduced in any sort of European way! There's plenty of numbers here that show that strong 60s Congo love of Afro-Cuban elements – and the 3CD package also features work done with Manu Dibango, and the group Cercul Jazz. Titles include "Pasi Na Komona", "Succes Cercul", "Na Welate", "Dia Bikola", "Honole", "O Nongone Mba Mulema", "Na Ye Na Lisano", "Yanga", "Longwa Na Nzela", "Nitouani Yam Bi", "Awana Divorce Na Bana", and "Les Ecoliers". CD

Formative material from DJ Shadow – his early original breaks and loops that took shape after young Mr. Davis got his hands on his first 4-track cassette recorder – blueprint Shadow craft from 1990-1992! Titles include "DJ Shadow's Theme (Original Version)", "The Source Is Serious Business", "Make It Critical", "Rock Lesson", "Cult Of Brutality", "Do You Remember", "Lesson 5", "Reverse Beat" and "Closing Credits". LP, Vinyl record album

There's nothing disposable about this classic album – as the set is one of the greatest comebacks in hip hop, and the start of a fantastic second run for Masta Ace! It's almost as if the MC has a whole new sense of mature majesty – one that really comes through on the classic "Acknowledge", and which holds strong in the company of guests who include Jane Doe, King T, Apocalypse, Strick, Jean Grae, Greg Nice, Rah Digga, and others whose presence only serves to remind us who the leader is! Ace delivers some amazing self-reflection on "Dear Diary" – rhyming about the ups and downs of his career in hip hop with brutal honesty – and other cuts include "Too Long", "Don't Understand", "Hold U", "Enuff" "Last Rights", "Block Episode", "Unfriendly Game", "I Like Dat", "PTA", "No Regrets", and "Something's Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album

The album that changed everything for Metallica – catapulting them from patron saints of unrelentingly heavy thrash metal to reluctant (at first, anyway) mainstream superstars! The production is glossier sounding than ever before, and whether that compromised the rawer brutality of their heaviest moments is debatable to this day – but that's countered by the slow-building, incredible songcraft (the shortest one is over 5 minutes long) and all around ambitiously structured material. Includes "Blackened", "Eye Of The Beholder", the game-changing "One", "Harvester Of Sorrow", "To Live Is To Die", "Dyers Eve" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Motorhead at their thunderingly heavy, breakneak speediest, shrapnel-voiced best! For a band that's best enjoyed for it's raw and direct brute force and belligerent swagger, it's still important to approach with a sense of perspective – and know that before Motorhead, heavy rock just did not sound like this. Many, many tried to follow Lemmy's lead afterwards, with varying creative success, but we'll always go back to the trailblazers. Includes the all time classic title tune, second only to "Ace Of Spades" in their canon, plus "Stay Clean", "(I Won't) Pay Your Price", "I'll Be Your Best", "Capricorn", "No Class", "Tear Ya Down", "Metropolis" and "Limb From Limb". LP, Vinyl record album

Prince certainly hit and run with this record – as the set was so secret, we couldn't even announce it until it was released! But the lack of advance fame certainly doesn't hold it back – as the whole thing is one of Prince's strongest efforts in years – a record that echoes lots of his 80s famous funk right at the start, then breaks out into a mode that's a lot more brash and almost brutal at times – as if the purple one's expressing anger and emotion we never would have heard in his music from years back! Everything is very much right on the money – vocals, instruments, and all the rhythms woven together with that magic that Prince first created decades ago – but with a fresher 21st Century spirit that still blows away most of the younger generation he's inspired. Titles include "Hardrocklover", "Fallinlove2nite", "Mr Nelson", "June", "Million $ Show", "Ain't About 2 Stop", and "This Could B Us". CD

One of the funkiest box sets we've ever seen – and amazingly issued by an American major label! The 4CD package is a treasure trove of funky work from a decade of Warner Brothers, Atlantic Records, and related labels – tunes pulled both from mainstream album releases and much more obscure 45s – all expertly collected here into a whopping batch of 91 tracks, all packaged in a cool little box with an 80 page booklet! This one goes way past some of the silly "decade" sets from Rhino, and really displays a new level of cool and connoisseurship – one that finally appreciates the rich depths of funky work at their fingertips, most of which has not been properly reissued in the US! Titles include "Almendra" by Macondo, "Goin Down" by Allen Toussaint, "Wah Wah Man" by Young Holt Unlimited, "Spinning Wheel" by Wade Marcus, "Hard Times" by Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters, "What's So Never The Dance (parts 1 & 2)" by Houseguests, "8 Days On The Road" by Howard Tate, "Getting Uptown" by United 8, "Wanoah" by Black Heat, "Let It Crawl" by Society's Bag, "Flute Thing" by Seatrain, "Try It Again" by Bobby Byrd, "Funky To The Bone" by Freddi Henchi & The Soul Setters, "Improve" by Darrow Fletcher, "Rien Ne Va Plus" by Funk Factory, "Gossip" by Cyril Neville, "Spreadin Honey" by Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, "Stoned Soul" by Artie Christopher, "Sexy Coffee Pot" by Tony Alvon & The Belaires, "Tampin" by The Rhine Oaks, "Jan Jan" by The Fabulous Counts, "Sing A Simple Song" by The Noble Knights, "It's All In Your Mind" by Soul Angels, "Funky John" by Johnny Cameron, "Don't Come Around Here Any More" by Mark Putney, "Keep On Dancing" by The Commodores, "Right On Brother (part 1)" by South Shore Commission, "Pop Popcorn Children" by Eldridge Holmes, and "The Deacon" by Brute Force. CD

The first album by the second group to call themselves the Last Poets – and as fierce a document of their rich talents as you'll ever find – bursting forth with anger and righteousness at a level as tight as Gil Scott-Heron's first album! The group here is the key second lineup of the ensemble of wordsmiths – comprised of Abiodun Oyewole, Alafia Pudim, and Omar Ben Hassan, plus the percussionist Nilaja – and most cuts feature only spare percussion backing over the spoken protest poetry – delivered with a brutal edge that really sums up the righteous politics of the time. Titles include "Run, N*gger", "On The Subway", "When The Revolution Comes", "Jones Comin' Down", "Black Thighs", "N*ggers Are Scared Of Revolution", and "Wake Up, N*ggers" – all of which should give you a good picture of what's going on with the record! LP, Vinyl record album

Deep, thoughful and soulful hip hop from Mr J Medieros – produced with a lean, thumping vibe by Stro The 89th Key – with singing by Tara Ellis and a number of tracks. Mr J is doing his own thing on his own label, and it's solid, worthy stuff. Titles include "Children", "Last Stars", "My Own", "Holding On", "Apples Apples", "Brutus", "The Balance" and more. CD

A really great setting for the guitar of Mary Halvorson – one that reminds us what a versatile player she's become over the years – an artist whose way of inflecting strings and reaching for new colors really continues to amaze us with each new album! There's a very rhythmic pulse to the record – as Michael Formanek provides bass and Tomas Fujiwara plays drums – with the former also bringing in a bit of electronics, while the latter handles vibes – although both rarely diverge too much from the core, which really allows Halvorson to fly throughout. Titles include "Survival Fetish", "Song For Mr Humphries", "Capsicum Annuum", "Should Be Cool", "Brutality & Beauty", and "Swirling Lives". LP, Vinyl record album