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An epic interview and reassessment of Vanilla Ice. R&b diva/legend Sugar Pie Desanto (the female James Brown) speaks. 10 second Patti Smith interview. Jersey garage-kings the Swingin' Neckbreakers interviewed. Albert Ayler murder conspiracy theories...in comix form! Strawberry Shortcake records...a lost cult. The Wix records story (a woman rockabilly fanatic puts out some messed up albums by Ray Smith, Wayne Worley and the Worleybirds and Wayne Keeling). Plus G.G. Allin, Ted Nugent, Sammy Davis Jr. Magazine

The famous full length debut of Snoop Dogg – and a record that forever set the tone for hip hop on the west coast! Some might argue that Dr Dre's Chronic was a lynchpin set – but Snoop's work on that set led to this one – and a moment where the underground scene was able to burst into superstardom – at a level that, all these many years later, would have stunned any one in LA back in the 90s! Yet that later commercial fame and constant TV appearances is a long way off – and Snoop's very much a man of the streets on this set – and as generous to others as Dre was to him, opening the door to feature DOC, Tha Dogg Pound, Warren G, Kurupt, Lady Of Rage, Nate Dogg, and others. Dre produced – and titles include "Bathtub", "G Funk Intro", "Gin And Juice", "Tha Shiznit", "Lodi Dodi", "Murder Was The Case", "Serial Killa", "Who Am I", "For All My Niggaz & Bitches", "Aint No Fun", "Doggy Dogg World", "GZ and Hustlas", and "Pump Pump". CD

The famous full length debut of Snoop Dogg – and a record that forever set the tone for hip hop on the west coast! Some might argue that Dr Dre's Chronic was a lynchpin set – but Snoop's work on that set led to this one – and a moment where the underground scene was able to burst into superstardom – at a level that, all these many years later, would have stunned any one in LA back in the 90s! Yet that later commercial fame and constant TV appearances is a long way off – and Snoop's very much a man of the streets on this set – and as generous to others as Dre was to him, opening the door to feature DOC, Tha Dogg Pound, Warren G, Kurupt, Lady Of Rage, Nate Dogg, and others. Dre produced – and titles include "Bathtub", "G Funk Intro", "Gin And Juice", "Tha Shiznit", "Lodi Dodi", "Murder Was The Case", "Serial Killa", "Who Am I", "For All My Niggaz & Bitches", "Aint No Fun", "Doggy Dogg World", "GZ and Hustlas", and "Pump Pump". This version includes the later-deleted "GZ Up Hoes Down". LP, Vinyl record album

The first full length classic from Spice 1 – an MC who came up in the wake of Too Short on the west coast, but has definitely found his own style by the time of this set! Some tracks almost have an Ice Cube mix of biting social commentary and view from the streets – while others are maybe more in the crossover gangsta vein that would rise strongly in years to come. Samples are all obvious, but well-used – records from Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, and Isaac Hayes – and the album also features some tight mixing and production from Ant Banks. Titles include "In My Neighborhood", "187 Proof", "Peace To My Nine", "Welcome To The Ghetto", "Money Or Murder", "City Streets", and "Break Yourself". LP, Vinyl record album

Tangerine Dream delivered a number of famous soundtracks in the late 70s and early 80s – but this set is one of the most obscure, and maybe one of the wildest too! The music was done for an Australian horror film, and has a very dark, moody vibe – still plenty of the Tangerine Dream touches you'd know, but also a bit more noise and murky moments too – and less of the fast-running keyboard lines and electronics that usually grace most of their moments in film! Much of the instrumentation is electronic, but abstracted in all these cool ways – and certainly handled with a lot more depth than some of the younger film composers who were often turning out music like this on a limited budget, with limited instrumentation. Titles include "Murder In The Classroom", "Horror In The Bathroom", "Experiments In Tension", "Tension In The Graveyard", "Kill The Professor/Cleaning Up", and "Pete Goes In For The Kill". LP, Vinyl record album

A spooky little soundtrack, with some slight erotic moments as well – all scored for a schlocky Italian film starring an ex-patriot Farley Granger! The story centers around an investigation of an earlier rape and murder – and the music does a good deal to underscore the mix of sexual tension and drama in the film – often using spare stepping basslines that move very slowly on the bottom of the tunes, while eerie keyboards, guitar, and weirder effects drift lightly over the top. A few numbers have a slightly warmer feel, in keeping with more erotic moments in early 70s Italian cinema – and there's also a bit of wordless vocals that float through some of the tunes, often with a theremin-like quality. LP features 15 tracks from the film! LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool Japanese package, one designed to appeal to lovers of classic film noir and postwar crime fiction! The set brings together an assortment of jazz and vocal tracks – the sort that might have been coming over the radio in the background while two lovers plotted a murder, or a gang of thieves were staking out a bank – a nice moody mix of work from Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Teddy Wilson, Duke Ellington, Les Brown, Lee Wiley, Peggy Lee, John Kirby, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

Incredibly groovy work from a set of German crime films of the late 60s and early 70s – all in a very mod and jazzy mode! The music was all done by the legendary Gert Wilden – who also weighed in for Crippled Dick with the excellent Schulmadchen Report collection – and the overall feel is very much in the mode of some of the best Peter Thomas soundtracks from the same generation. There's lots of great twists and turns in the arrangements – and the tunes are not just jazzy, but also feature some great use of organ, vocals, and odd production – making for some wonderfully swinging tracks that have a really offbeat sound. As usual, the whole thing's packaged with some great Crippled Dick touches – and the CD features a total of 20 tracks that include "Oriental Twist", "Desert Hips", "Murder Beat", "Green Spider Theme", "Rolf Torring", "Piano Blues", and "White Cargo". CD

A collection of soundtrack work by Emerson, with selections from Honky, Best Revenge, Murderock, Inferno, and Harmagedon. LP, Vinyl record album

One of best ever albums by The English Beat – one that cemented their status as one of the most creative groups to come out of the ska revival scene! Wha'ppen has lots of fresh instrumentation and experimentation – but that's in service of some tight, insistent songcraft – and they never ever bury their their Caribbean influences. There's a bit more Afro Beat-inspired rhythms and some atmospheric underground pop touches, but it's still get plenty of the Jamaican style we loved about their earlier work, too – on a record that didn't get the acclaim it deserved at the time! Titles include "Monkey Murders", "I Am Your Flag", "Walk Away", "Get A Job", "The Limits We Set", "Dream Home In NZ", and "Drowning". CD

Murs & Slug are back as Felt – with production by Aesop Rock for album 3 – and that later player gives the Felt sound a more ominously funked up backdrop! Fuzzed out, but hard hitting beatcraft, but not to the point that you can't nod your head to it, and Slug & Murs are sharp and charismatic as always. Titles include "Protagonists", "Felt Chewed Up", "The Clap", "The Prize", "Give It", "Paul Reubens", "Felt Good", "Whaleface", "Deathmurdermayhem" and more. CD

A huge step forward in music for saxophonist Jimmy Greene – an artist who's still reeling from the loss of his daughter, who was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 – but who's turning his grief and sorrow into some of the richest music he's ever recorded! The feel here is even deeper than the first volume dedicated to Green's daughter – original songs that burst out with so much life and energy, we're held rapt right from the very first note – almost never mired in the sort of melancholy you might expect from such an experience, and instead ready to set a new fire to light the way ahead! Greene plays tenor, soprano, alto, and baritone – and other musicians include Kevin Hayes on Rhodes and piano, Mike Moreno on guitar, Renee Rosnes on piano, Ben Williams and John Patitucci on bass, and Jeff Tain Watts and Otis Brown III on drums. Titles include "Fun Circuits", "Second Breakfast", "Flowers", "Stanky Leg", "Big Guy", "Amantes", and "Thirty Two". CD

A pair of country gems from the great Gary Stewart – back to back in a single set! First up is Out Of Hand, a seminal album from Gary Stewart – one of those key 70s records that helped establish him as a rising star on the bandstand and the barrooms – thanks in part to some very booze-oriented tracks on the set! The record's got two classics that really define Gary's sound – the seminal "Drinkin Thing" and "She's Actin Single (I'm Drinkin Doubles)" – which are a great update of older drinking themed country cuts, but with a much more vibrant 70s approach, one that shows the way that rock music was sliding in to influence crossover stars like Gary! The whole thing's great, though – and the record's filled with other great tracks that include "Sweet Country Red", "Back Slider's Wine", "Draggin Shackles", and "Out Of Hand". Brand New is a set that Gary Stewart cut away from some of his major label fame, and a record that maybe has him burning even more strongly in the setting – working with a leaner sort of production that puts him in the territory of some of the younger up-and-comers of the generation, and which also shows just how much his 70s material might have been an influence to them! Stewart's still got that incredible voice that few others can match – inflections that really send the tunes home – on titles that include "Son Of A Honky Tonk Woman", "Brand New Whiskey", "An Empty Glass", "Murdered By Love", "Romona", and "I Get Drunk". CD

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

A set of really wonderful tracks from the best years of Creation Records – including "Murders The Hope Of Women" by Momus, "Shine On" by House Of Love, "In A Mourning Town" by Biff Bang Pow, "Cut Me Deep" by The Jasmine Minks, and "Kiss At Dawn" by Nikki Sudden & The Jacobites. LP, Vinyl record album

"Number One Spot" features Ludacris. Produced by Green Lantern. "Murderous" features Talib Kweli. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Brilliant work throughout – the last studio album ever cut by Lee Morgan, and a mindblowing session that always leaves us wondering how massive he would have become if he hadn't been tragically murdered shortly after it was recorded! The album's a huge change from Morgan's already-great work of the 60s – and features some very extended numbers, most a side long and these free-flowing numbers that are played by a larger group than usual – but with all the intensity and focus of a small group date from Lee! The set features key work from a young Billy Harper on tenor – especially on his own fantastic compositions "Capra Black" and "Croquet Ballet" – and for many folks, the record was a key introduction to Harper's genius. But the whole lineup is wonderful too – especially Harold Mabern on piano – and other titles include "In What Direction Are You Heading", "Angela", and "Inner Passions Out". LP, Vinyl record album

11 tracks in all, including "Til I'm Laid To Rest", "Murderer", "Champion", "Not An Easy Road" and more. LP, Vinyl record album