... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the best album we've ever heard from Dining Rooms – a set that has the group moving way past just makers of seductive grooves, into wider, fuller territory that definitely puts them at the top shelf level we love from the best at Schema Records! The album balances some of their earlier modes with really strong songs that feature a variety of different singers – including Sean Martin, Beatrice Velasco Moreno, and Georgeanne Kalweit – who each give the record a lot more lyrical power than before, and a strong presence on the vocal tracks that makes instrumental moments feel like well-placed interludes. Titles include "When You Died", "Little Girl", "Art Is A Cat", "Carpet Of Green", "Nella Sua Loca Realta", "Ghosts", "Two Thousand Parts", "No Frame", "Teach Me To Dance", and "Astratto". CD

Maybe the best album we've ever heard from Dining Rooms – a set that has the group moving way past just makers of seductive grooves, into wider, fuller territory that definitely puts them at the top shelf level we love from the best at Schema Records! The album balances some of their earlier modes with really strong songs that feature a variety of different singers – including Sean Martin, Beatrice Velasco Moreno, and Georgeanne Kalweit – who each give the record a lot more lyrical power than before, and a strong presence on the vocal tracks that makes instrumental moments feel like well-placed interludes. Titles include "When You Died", "Little Girl", "Art Is A Cat", "Carpet Of Green", "Nella Sua Loca Realta", "Ghosts", "Two Thousand Parts", "No Frame", "Teach Me To Dance", and "Astratto". LP, Vinyl record album

Al Stewart had been making fine records for many years before – but this is the album that broke him big all over the world – thanks to the title track "Year Of The Cat", plus "One Stage Before", "Flying Sorcery", "Broadway Hotel", "Lord Grenville", and "Midas Shadow". CD

A really unique record from Norma Tanega – a singer with roots in folk, but who works here in a mode that's very much her own! Norma sings and plays acoustic guitar as pictured on the cover – but the song styles and production are often very different than you might expect – slightly psychedelic at times, especially on the more love-oriented lyrics – and given some unusual arrangements by Herb Bernstein, working here under Bob Crew – who uses subtle elements to expand things around the edges, without getting in Tanega's way – so that there's a trippy quality to the songs that really fits the naivete of the lyrics. Titles include "You're Dead", "Walkin My Cat Named Dog", "A Street That Rhymes At 6am", "I'm Dreamin A Dream", "What Are We Craving", "No Stranger Am I", and "Hey Girl". CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A wonderful album from Dionne Warwick – probably her greatest record after the early years! The session was recorded with production by Thom Bell at Sigma Sound in Philly – and the style is a sweet blend of Philly modes, from fragile ballads to midtempo groovers, all done in a warm and intimate style that's never cloying, and which really gets at the depth of Dionne's soulful style. The record's one of those that you might have passed by for years, but which if you heard it playing at someone's house, you'd say "Dang! What the heck is that?" Great all the way through, and with tracks that include "Track Of The Cat", "His House & Me", "Once You Hit The Road", "This Is Love", and "Love Me One More Time". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest moments ever from Bobby Caldwell – a special little album that occupies it's own place between genres – a touch of soul, the warmth of jazz, and a delivery that really helped Caldwell reach out to some big new audiences at the time! There's a cool, compressed feel to the record – but a quality that's still quite personal and never too slick – that rare balance that only a few of Bobby's contemporaries could ever match – and which is really hammered home here by the production and great songwriting. Instrumentation uses a warm blend of acoustic and electric elements that offset the vocals nicely – and titles include "Coming Down From Love", "Wrong Or Right", "You Promised Me", "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love", and "Open Your Eyes". CD

An amazing collection of 40s and 50s jazz drawings by Gene Deitch – the complete anthology of his work for legendary jazz magazine Record Changer! Gene was an amazing artist and cartoonist, whose work helped solidify the legacies of some of the most famous cartoon characters in the American pop culture canon – from Popeye, to Tom & Jerry and beyond – but we're especially in love with his jazz-centric Record Changer era! Gene adored jazz and his love for it really shows! Cat On A Hot Thin Groove includes all of his magazine covers, cartoon panels and other bits from Record Changer – versatile work that ranges from fun, cartoon-y panels of "Jazz Cat" characters, to more elaborate and abstract illustrations. Wonderful, vital stuff – and it's very nicely anthologized here by Fantagraphics! Coffee-table scale paperback – 160+ pages of prime Deitch jazzy drawings with text accompaniment. Book

Seminal sounds from trumpeter Ian Carr and his Nucleus group of the early 70s – maybe one of the few jazz rock groups that was ever able to work with a fair bit of jazz in their sound! Unlike his contemporaries, who often started in rock first, then added some horns – Carr was already coming off an important 60s legacy, co-leading a group with tenorist Don Rendell – so the vibe here is like an extension of that very rhythmic, very tonal modern work – but with the addition of electrified instrumentation – thanks to the guitar work of Chris Spedding and keyboards of Karl Jenkins – who plays some fantastic electric lines throughout! The vibe is maybe a bit in the territory of early 70s electric work by Miles Davis and Donald Byrd (pre-Mizell for the latter) – but there's maybe a farther-reaching concept at play on many of the records, at a level that always helped the group cross over to the prog crowd, and move beyond just a straight jazz audience. Other key players include Brian Smith on tenor and soprano saxes – a really fantastic part of the lineup – plus Jeff Clyne on bass and John Marshall on drums – and as the albums move along a bit, the lineup shifts slightly, and also opens up to guests who include Kenny Wheeler and Harry Beckett on trumpets, Tony Levin on drums, and Norma Winstone on voice. And although some of the albums have been reissued before, this is the first set to really dive in completely – and bring together material from the Vertigo Records releases that include Elastic Rock, We'll Talk About It Later, Solar Plexus, Belladonna, Labyrinth, Roots, Under The Sun, Snakehips Etcetera, and Alley Cat. CD

An obscure later album by Jimmy Smith – but one that continues the trend of tighter jazz funk that he began in the 70s! The album's a tight studio session with Jimmy on the "Wersi Saturn W3T" organ, plus guitar by Howard Roberts and Dennis Budimir, piano by Ronnie Foster, trumpet by Oscar Brashear, and percussion by Paulinho Da Costa. The tracks run from straighter soul jazz organ numbers to more pumped-up ones that feel like 70s soundtrack work by Lalo Schifrin – no surprise, since Schifrin contributed 5 tracks to the set. Titles include "Wersi Time", "Free Ride", "The Big Brawl", and "The Cat Strikes Again". CD

A double-dose of rare soul and blues – served up here on a double-length set that's overflowing with plenty of obscure gems from the 50s and 60s! The format here follows some of the other collections on Stag O Lee – a nicely rough-n-ready sound, pulled from 45s from back in the day – and there's a heck of a lot more sounds and styles here than just the blues hinted at by the title! 32 tracks in all – with titles that include "Dead" by The Poets, "My Isabella" by Danny Cobb, "Castanet Senorita" by Ray Johnson, "My Love Is Coming Down" by Kenny Martin, "Come On Home" by George Allen, "Misery" by Barrett Strong, "Pneumonia" by Joe Tex, "Talkin Bout Me" by Moose John, "How Much Land" by Frank Minion, "Mama Linda" by The Monitors, "Little Girl" by Sugar Boy Williams, "Hard Times" by Jackie Ross, "Hey Boy" by The Sterlings, "Every Whicha Kinda Way" by Earl King, and "Going Back Where I Belong" by Sugar Pie Desanto. LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Snooky Young, Conte Candoli and Red Holloway – plus vocals from Ernestine Anderson. Tracks include "Candy Bar", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Cat Nap", "Street Of Dreams" and "Jug Or Not". CD

"Black Cat" is a groovy little tune from Turkish rocker Durul Gence – maybe slightly more Anglo-styled than music from some of his contemporaries, but in a really great way! Lyrics are in English, and the tune's got this great groove that mixes acoustic guitar and fuzz with plenty of dark corners around the edges – and "Boo Song" maybe feels even more British overall, with this use of acoustic guitar amidst more soaring arrangements – which, with Durul's vocals, make the whole thing feel like some lost London gem from 1969! 7-inch, Vinyl record

That's Mat Walerian on the cover, looking all nice and spooky – but the group has a very down-to-earth, familiar trio at the core – Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums and percussion – players who really give the album a lot of well-grounded spirit! Walerian plays alto, bass clarinet, soprano clarinet, and flute – sometimes in contrast to the mood of the others, especially Parker and Shipp, who have this fantastic way of revolving around each other in sonic space! The set is full of great moments and wonderful surprises – well worth the double length accorded to the album – and titles include "Magic World", "Thelonious Forever", Sir Denis", "Business With William", "Lesson II", and "Forest Council". CD

... CD

A real high point in Jimmy Smith's famous 60s run at Verve Records – a key collaboration with arranger Lalo Schfrin, who brings a great blend of jazz and soundtrack styles to Jimmy's famous groove on the Hammond! Lalo's backings are totally great – with touches of Latin and Brazilian that really open up the sound from some of Smith's other records – but in a way that still keeps the whole thing nicely on point as Jimmy soars away on his solos. The single "The Cat" was kind of a minor hit for Smith – and there's a lot of other nice tunes on the album, including "Theme From Joy House", "Chicago Serenade", "Delon's Blues", and "Main Title From Carpetbaggers". LP, Vinyl record album

Al Stewart had been making fine records for many years before – but this is the album that broke him big all over the world – thanks to the title track "Year Of The Cat", plus "One Stage Before", "Flying Sorcery", "Broadway Hotel", "Lord Grenville", and "Midas Shadow". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique record from Norma Tanega – a singer with roots in folk, but who works here in a mode that's very much her own! Norma sings and plays acoustic guitar as pictured on the cover – but the song styles and production are often very different than you might expect – slightly psychedelic at times, especially on the more love-oriented lyrics – and given some unusual arrangements by Herb Bernstein, working here under Bob Crew – who uses subtle elements to expand things around the edges, without getting in Tanega's way – so that there's a trippy quality to the songs that really fits the naivete of the lyrics. Titles include "You're Dead", "Walkin My Cat Named Dog", "A Street That Rhymes At 6am", "I'm Dreamin A Dream", "What Are We Craving", "No Stranger Am I", and "Hey Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

A great late 70s set from Bert Jansch – a set that's maybe a bit of a return to his roots, but which also really marks Jansch as a much stronger vocalist than he ever was in the early days! There's this confidence and maturity to the lyrics that's really great – Bert inflecting things with that voice that must have been one of the most unusual on the UK scene, even in the smaller folk rock world of his roots – and although the instrumentation is relatively lean, the tunes have a fullness and gentle sort of majesty that's very different than 60s Jansch in a similar mode. The whole thing's wonderful – maybe a bit overlooked in the year when punk was exploding – but proof that some of the more timeless artists of the generation were still turning out impeccable work. Titles include "Daybreak", "One To A Hundred", "Pretty Saro", "Doctor, Doctor", "3AM", "St Fiacre", "If You See My Love", "Poor Mouth", "Cat & Mouse", "Three Chord Trick", and "Lost Love". CD includes 3 bonus tracks – "Three Dreamers", "Dragonfly", and "Candyman". CD

The last album ever recorded by Trinidad calypso legend Lord Invader – and a set that really sums up all the genius he brought to his too-short career! At a time when the music was really entering the mainstream in commercial ways, Invader keeps things very spare, stark, and basic here – reminding us that at the core, calypso was not only a really revolutionary musical style in the Caribbean – but also a way for under-represented cultures to really get a chance to speak out! Lord Invader does plenty of that here – mixing social commentary with a fair bit of wit, all while the percussion is going crazy at the core – on titles that include "Cat O Nine Tails", "Crisis In Arkansas", "Fidel Castro", "My Experience In The Reeperbahn", "Me One Alone", "As Long As It Born In My House", and "Steel Band War". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wild little record – quite experimental, and maybe in a mode that's impossible to describe in words! The set's part of that great burst of creative Japanese music at the start of the 70s – but is even more revolutionary than most – as it seems to mix artful passages with sonic experiments – some that combine traditional and contemporary instruments, others that merge avant voice and percussion, and a few numbers recorded in different spots – a cave, train tracks, and an "old people" festival! There's definitely some songs in the mix too – but they come slowly, and pepper the album in a nice way alongside the more experimental passages – really building up with freaky fuzzy guitar rock at the end of side one, then lapsing into more experimental work by side two. The album's divided up into a "cat side" and "dog side" – great for you pet lovers too! LP, Vinyl record album

One of Henry Mancini's best soundtracks – made even better! The score for Mr. Lucky was a masterpiece of jazzy little themes – and it's always been one that we've loved way better than Peter Gunn or some of Mancini's other more famous work. Here, Mancini redoes that music with a west coast Latin feel – a cool blend of jazzy riffing and percussive rhythms – never as hard-hitting as other Latin work on RCA, which is part of the charm of the record. The rhythms are often a bit gentle, but step in nicely to give Mancini's music a nice little punch – and titles include "Mr Lucky Goes Latin", "Blue Mantilla", "Siesta", "The Sound Of Silver", "The Dancing Cat", and "Cow Bells & Coffee Beans". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best early albums from the legendary Moondog – a set that got wider circulation than his first few releases, and really helped expand his reach beyond New York City! Moondog's still at his simple best here – working in a blend of rhythmic percussion, stringed instruments, flute, and other rootsy instrumentation – all with echoes of Eastern styles, but served in a way that definitely has more of a touch of American exotica! All numbers are played by small groups – or even solo by Moondog – and any vocalizations take on almost an instrumental feel – sliding in alongside sound effects, animal noises, and other obscure utterings. The album's almost the art world equivalent of Martin Denny – but has a lot more depth than easy kitsch – and is still tremendously powerful stuff all these years later! Titles include "Caribea", "Big Cat", "Frog Bog", "To A Sea Horse", "Surf Session" and "Trees Against The Sky". This reissue is the original version of the record that was also issued as Moondog on Prestige. LP, Vinyl record album

Mulligan always sounds great next to a tenor – especially in the Verve series that has him teamed up with players like Johnny Hodges, Paul Desmond, or Stan Getz. This release, cut with Ben Webster upfront, is one of the best of that series – and features the pair blowing easily and soulfully on some long tracks with rhythm by Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar, and Mel Lewis. Titles include "Go Home", "The Cat Walk", "Sunday", "Who's Got Rhythm", and "Tell Me When". CD

American 60s hits, completely recast by the orchestra of Andrew Oldham – a cat you might know best as the manager of the Rolling Stones, but who also has a great way with a groove in the studio! The style is bouncy Brit pop of the 60s – which has these American songs really coming across in a cool and different sort of way – arranged to perfection by David Whittaker, who may well be the real leading talent of the set – able to beautifully balance electric basslines with larger orchestrations, and still keep things all tight and compact! There's some weird vocals buried in the mix, but most songs are instrumental – and titles include "Wendy", "Warmth Of The Sun", "Girls On The Beach", "Don't Worry Baby", "Big Man In Town", "Ronnie", "Save It For Me", and "Dawn Go Away". CD also features mono and stereo mixes of the whole album – and a version of the "Theme From The Dick Van Dyke Show". LP, Vinyl record album

Grooves unlike anything else you've ever heard before – the rightly legendary musical legacy of William Onyeabor, one of the most enigmatic talents to come from the African scene of the 70s! The work here is all plenty darn funky, but it's also very different from familiar Afro Funk too – as the instrumentation is heavy on keyboards, handled by William with incredible dexterity – and spun out in these soaring lines that bristle with righteous touches that really support the message of his tunes! The vibe mixes in some electro elements with long-drawn rhythms – and the vocals often step aside for lots of keyboard and rhythm interplay, then come in to send things home at just the right moment. Onyeabor's been a pretty elusive cat over the years, and it's taken Luaka Bop quite some time to put this collection together – amazing work that may well make the album one of the most important to ever come from the label – and the first introduction to the non-African world of Onyeabor's incredible sounds. Titles include "Body & Soul", "Atomic Bomb", "Something You'll Never Forget", "Why Go To War", "Love Is Blind", "Fantastic Man", and "Let's Fall In Love". CD

Grooves unlike anything else you've ever heard before – the rightly legendary musical legacy of William Onyeabor, one of the most enigmatic talents to come from the African scene of the 70s! The work here is all plenty darn funky, but it's also very different from familiar Afro Funk too – as the instrumentation is heavy on keyboards, handled by William with incredible dexterity – and spun out in these soaring lines that bristle with righteous touches that really support the message of his tunes! The vibe mixes in some electro elements with long-drawn rhythms – and the vocals often step aside for lots of keyboard and rhythm interplay, then come in to send things home at just the right moment. Onyeabor's been a pretty elusive cat over the years, and it's taken Luaka Bop quite some time to put this collection together – amazing work that may well make the album one of the most important to ever come from the label – and the first introduction to the non-African world of Onyeabor's incredible sounds. Titles include "Body & Soul", "Atomic Bomb", "Something You'll Never Forget", "Why Go To War", "Love Is Blind", "Fantastic Man", and "Let's Fall In Love". 3LP set features four bonus tracks not on the CD! LP, Vinyl record album

Wild and wooly Rocket Ship Rock from Sun Ra and his Arkestra – featuring shout blues vocalist Yochanan – often billed as "the man from outer space" and a cat who could give Screamin Jay Hawkins a run for his money in the excitable oddball category – jumping 60s r&b with an interstellar theme, freaked out jazz, and unhinged genius from the Saturn vaults! Rocket Ship Rock features material that's the next stratospheric step from the early doo wop era recordings, with Yochanan coming unhinged without ever jettisoning his considerable charisma, on most of the numbers – including rare Saturn tracks, unissued and alternate and rehearsal takes – plus rare numbers other vocalists including Little Mack, Lacy Gibson and Ebah (both from the later 60s when Ra was going crazy for the Batman themes) and Don "Dino" Dean. Amazing spacey 60s soul & r&b with a wild eyed grit and the Arkestra in it's nicely gritty realm of the cosmos. Very well packaged by the folks at Norton, with nice liner notes, too. Titles include "Muck Muck", "Hot Skillet Momma", "Rocket Ship Rock", "The Sun Man Speaks", "Message To Earth Man" (#s 1& 2) with Yochanan, plus "Tell Her To Come On Home" feat Little Mack, "I Am Gonna Unmask The Batman" feat Lacy Gibson and an unissued version with Ebah, plus "Space Stroll" featuring Don "Dino" Dean. LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark work from The Rolling Stones – and a set that may well stand alongside Exile On Main Street for capturing the group at their height! The record's got the Stones very much in their own space – years from just putting a UK spin on American blues – and instead, finding a way to take all their best influences, and fuse them into a nasty, gritty sound that's complete genius all the way through! Yet at the same time, the set also has them more comfortable with rootsy elements too – but returning to styles in ways that are very different than their youth – with a new sort of mature confidence that holds the album together wonderfully. Titles include "Brown Sugar", "Wild Horses", "You Gotta Move", "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", "Bitch", "Sister Morphine", "Dead Flowers", and "I Got The Blues". Killer deluxe edition – with bonus tracks that include a reading of "Brown Sugar" with Eric Clapton – plus "Wild Horses (acoustic)", "Bitch (extended)", "Dead Flowers (alternate)", and "Can't You Hear Me Knocing (alternate)" – and four tracks recorded live at the Roundhouse in 1971 – "Honky Tonk Women", "Stray Cat Blues", "Live With Me", and "Love In Vain". LP, Vinyl record album

Two rare cuts from George Semper – a cat that some folks know as a funky organist, but who also produced a fair bit of hip soul as well! "Got To Find A Way" is from the rare Inner City Review album – and has these full, righteous vocals soaring to the skies – almost Staple Singers, but with a more secular message – as the bold rhythms get some nice organ lines from George! There's plenty more organ on "The Weight" – not the big hit, but an unreleased gem that follows the same groove as the a-side, but with a much deeper instrumental vibe! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A surprisingly great little record from Clark Terry – filled with warmth, humor, and some really great grooves! The core of the album is the track "Mumbles", one that's based around Terry kind of slurring a scat vocal to a jazzy 60s groove. The track was a minor hit at the time, and Mainstream recorded a whole album around it – using the arranging talents of Joe Cain, who runs through a lot of elements that really make the set cook – from Latin percussion, to Hammond organ grooving, electric guitar, and an overall sound that's got a hip Verve Records feel. Players include Vinnie Bell on guitar, Willie Bobo on percussion, Grady Tate on drums, and Jerome Richardson on reeds – and Cain really makes the record groove in ways that we've never heard on another Terry session. Titles include "Mumbles", "Rum & Mumbles", "Big Spender", "The Mumbler Strikes Again", "El Blues Latino", and "The Cat From Cadiz". CD

Not the first album we've heard from saxophonist Michael Thomas, but a record that definitely has us looking at his music all over again – thanks to a double-length collection of wonderfully extended tunes – on which Thomas really runs with bold, open energy on the alto sax! The group here has no piano – just the trumpet of Jason Palmer in the frontline, plus bass from Hans Glawischnig and drums from Johnathan Blake – two rhythm players who bring plenty to the table, but sometimes like to let the horns to the swinging – which Thomas and Palmer do in these nicely blocky passages of sound. All tunes are originals by the leader – and titles include "Fox & Cat", "Dr Teeth", "Framework", "Chant", "Underground", "Event Horizon", and "Distance". CD

A beautifully overstuffed collection of early work from New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint – a set that not only includes many of his key recordings from the scene in the 60s, but also some of his important productions for other artists too! The package begins with Toussaint in the lead on a series of sides on CD one – working either as himself, or as Al Touson, or with The Stones, The Rubyiats, or Allen & Allen – all with these choppy, loping, heavy-grooving rhythms that were Toussaint's huge contribution to New Orleans soul right from the start! Titles include "Whirlaway", "Whipped Cream", "Moo Moo", "Wham Tousan", "Omar Khayyam", "I Don't Need One", "Baby Do Liddle", "Tomorrow", "Fat Cat", "Banana Split", and "Java". CD2 features a series of recordings done for the Minit, Instant, and Sansu labels – all with Toussaint involved either as producer, arranger, or musician – on material that forever shaped the sound of New Orleans – titles that include "A Certain Girl" by Ernie K Doe, "Over You" by Aaron Neville, "I Like It Like That (parts 1 & 2)" by Chris Kenner, "Sophisticated Cissy" by The Meters, "Holy Cow" by Lee Dorsey, "I'm Evil Tonight" by Betty Harris, "Oogsey Moo" by Jessie Hill, "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "Ruler Of My Heart" by Irma Thomas, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, and "Hot Tamales (parts 1 & 2)" by The Primemates. 50 tracks in all! CD

A massive treasure from the P-Funk empire – an unreleased George Clinton project during his glory days on Westbound Records! The group features Gary Shider in the lead on vocals – with support from other US Music members, and a fair bit of the current Funkadelic lineup too – musicians who played on the legendary America Eats Its Young sessions, recorded at the same time as this one! The sound is incredibly sinister – even more tripped-out, fuzzy, and psychedelic than most regular Funkadelic work – with lots of dark moments, and basslines that are sure to blast out your speakers – courtesy of Cordell Mosson. Other group members chime in with Shider, too – in the best Clinton-directed style of the time – and the whole thing has a massive ensemble feel that's wonderful, and right up there with the well known Westbound P-Funk recordings of the time. Why this one wasn't released is a real mystery to us – but we're mighty thankful to finally have it out! Titles include "This Broken Heart", "Baby I Owe You Something Good", "Be What You Is", "I Miss My Baby", and "Rat Kiss The Cat On The Naval". CD also features 2 bonus cuts – mono single mixes of "I Miss My Baby" and "Baby I Owe You Something Good". CD

Dear Tokyo is something throwback to an earlier era of jazz plus orchestra records and a pleasant surprise from a guitarist who is probably better known for his late 70's fusion records. Tracks include "Magic Land", "Lonesome Cat", "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", and "For Tokyo". CD

A really unique session for guitarist Kazumi Watanabe – one that's co-led with American vocalist Jimmy Hopps! Hopps' work on the record is really wonderful – poetic and soulful, with a deep-voiced quality that sets the mood of the album from the very first tune. Vocal and instrumental numbers alternate – and Watanabe's playing in an introspective style that's relatively airy, and has a really evocative tone. Tenor sax player Joe Jacson's also on the record, and sings a bit – as does guest vocalist Reiko Aoki. Titles include "Handle Me Gently", "Brothers & Sisters", "Blues Africaine", "Lonesome Cat", "Ann", "Poem", and "Salute To Papa". CD

A fantastic combination of funky grooves – the studio talents of Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and the Brazilian-tinged fusion of the legendary Azymuth! The jazzy trio are in great form here – tunes that are lean, and which really offer up all the best aspects that the group brought to their music back in the late 70s and early 80s – spun with a slightly different format by the lineup of Alex Malheiros on bass, Ivan Mamao Conti on drums, and Linklon Kiko Contentino on Fender Rhodes and keyboards – but handled perfectly by Adrian and Ali in the studio – with just the right sort of sound to avoid some of the slicker production that the group had on some of their other American recordings from years back. All tunes are new originals – and titles include "Pulando Corda", "Friendship Samba", "Apocolyptico", "Cat Jump", "Fall Afternoon", "Ao Redor Do Samba", and "Sumare". CD

A much-loved record from the days of our youth – served up here in a beautiful pic disc pressing too! The record features some famous performances from voices in the film, and some great backings from the Mike Sammes Singers – one of our favorite vocal ensembles of the 60s – and almost all tunes are penned by the Sherman Brothers, who gave Disney some of its biggest musical hits at the time. Titles include "Thomas O'Malley Cat" in three versions, by Phil Harris – plus "The Aristocats" by Maurice Chevalier, "She Never Felt Alone" by Robbie Lster, "Scales & Arpeggios" by Dean Clark and Gary Dubin, "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat" by Scatman Crothers, Phil Harries, Liz English, Robbie Lester, and Thuri Ravenscroft. LP, Vinyl record album

The swamps of Louisiana hold many secrets – and one of the is the massive amount of fantastic music cut on the scene in the 50s and 60s – so much so that we're still discovering overlooked gems and rare material all these many years later! This package is a great entry in this ongoing series by Ace – and pulls together 12 unreleased tracks and other rare singles from the indie studio scene in Louisiana – really showing off that complicated criss-crossing of modes that made its music very different from other southern sounds at the time! There's bits of twang, rockabilly, and maybe a touch of blues, cajun, and R&B – all served up in a really fantastic blend – on titles that include "You're Humbuggin Me" by Al Ferrier, "Feel So Good" by Bill & Carroll, "Love Me Baby" by Charlotte Hunter, "My Baby's Gone" by The Tune Tones, "Come Back Little Baby" by Bee Arnold, "Follow Me" by Huey & Margie, "Black Cat Boogie" by Erwin Babin, "We Gonna Bop Stop Rock" by Ray Vict & His Bop Rockers, "I'm A One Woman Man" by Thumper Jones, "Dust My Blues" by Margaret Lewis, "Carol" by Jim Miller, "Woe Is Me" by Linda Brannon, and "Gonna Rock My Baby Tonight" by an Unknown Artist! CD

Eddie Piller is one mighty cool cat – the force behind the Acid Jazz label for many decades, and also an expert on rare mod records from the 60s – which he's released on some great collections over the years! This time around, Eddie takes us right to the heart of the British mod revival which began in the late 70s – a scene in which Piller played a part before rising to the worlds of funk and jazz – and which he runs through here in a great batch of 92 tracks, all supported by notes on the music from his own perspective! The set is done in a great book-like style, with lots of images and other notes – and although we knew some of the bigger names on the scene, there's plenty here we'd never heard before – a huge set list that includes cuts by The Mods, Nips, Circles, Speedball, New Hearts, The Jam, Jolt, Purple Hearts, Scarlet Party, Mood Six, The Times, Onlookers, The Same, The Clues, 007, The Reaction, The Crooks, Dolly Mixture, Squire, Madness, Nine Below Zero, Secret Affair, The Step, Les Elite, Two Tone Pinks, Studio 68, Strangeways, The Moment, Corduroy, Makin Time, James Taylor Quartet, Little Murders, and many others! CD

A heady helping of rare singles from the farther reaches of the indie scene in early reggae – labels that include Duke, Grape, Black Swan, Blue Cat, and Attack – all tiny companies that are now part of the larger Trojan Records empire! The work here is nicely varied – as many styles as promised in the title, but with maybe the soulful edge of rocksteady at the core – a strong focus on the kind of late 60s singles that had more than enough depth to cross the Atlantic and get plenty of play on the London scene too! Titles include "Rock Steady Party" by Glenn Miller, "Walk With Des" by Des All Stars, "Tell It To Me" by Stranger & Patsy, "I Love The Reggae" by The Gaylads, "Brother Moses" by Clancy Collins, "Nigeria" by Hippy Boys, "Smooth & Sorts" by Dave Collins, "Black Out" by The Hardy Boys, and "Coming On The Scene" by Johnny & The Attractions. LP, Vinyl record album

A crazy collection of singles from the pre-hippie years of the beatnik – that cool cat who loved jazz, read poetry, and dug the scene with plenty of attitude! That attitude is the main focus of most of the cuts here – obscure tracks from the late 50s and early 60s that poke fun at the heady thoughts and easy intellectualism of the beat scene – presented in a range of different styles that really run the gamut – from jazz, to rock, to many other genres in between – including a fair bit of offbeat spoken word and instrumental records too! The vibe here follows nicely in the other Lux & Ivy collections on the Righteous label – full of weird and wild records we never would have discovered otherwise – with cuts that include "Dog" by Bob Dorough, "Laffin Beatnik" by Johnny Beeman, "Reaching Into In" by Ken Nordine, "No Pictures Please" by Rod McKuen, "Manhattan Fable" by Babs Gonzales, "Pimples & Braces" by Spike Jones & The City Slickers, "Teenage Beatnik" by Louis Nye, "A Beatnik Story" by The Expressos, "Meet The Bongo Man" by Johnny O, and "William Butler Yeats On The Third Avenue El" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. CD

That's a sweet 80s cover on the front – and the record features work by Tupa Lion, Lyrical, Lady B, Patrick Z, Nada Rank, Tenor Cat, Shaba Shields, and Bengi – plus a special "French Cut Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes music by Billy Bros. Swing Orchestra, Freddy Colt & His Red Cat Jazz Band, Raoby Santini, Toquinho, and Camera a Sud. CD