... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

The album that really broke Jethro Tull out of the prog rock underground and into the mainstream – and a set that showed that the group weren't just a combo with creative use of flute, but a band that could really rock off their ass when they wanted to! Previous records were all pretty great, but there's definitely something special in the air with this one – an extra-amped version of the group that even seems to have Ian Anderson's flute blowing out all stops, and his vocals sounding even more menacing than before! Martin Barre's maybe the real master, though – searing on guitar, and punctuating all of Anderson's efforts with his own mad energy – on titles that include the classic "Aqualung", plus "Wondering Aloud", "Cheap Day Return", "Cross Eyed Mary", "My God", "Slipstream", "Locomotive Breath", "Wind Up", and "Mother Goose". LP, Vinyl record album

An early gem from Jethro Tull – and a set that has the group really reaching forth with some of their more complicated, jazz-based musical impulses – while still holding onto some of the rawer power of the early days too! The album's lesser-known than some of the group's earlier hits – which may well make it even fresher all these many years later – a really stunning set of sounds that showcases the newly lyrical sensibility of Ian Anderson – both vocally and on flute – as well as the searing guitar of Martin Barre, which was really becoming a core element of the group at this point. Titles include "For Michael Collins Jefferey & Me", "Inside", "Play In Time", "Sossity You're A Woman", "With You There To Help Me", and "Nothing To Say". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A bit of old, and a bit of new – and includes some great live material on the second half, including the extended "By Kind Permission Of" and "Dharma For One" – and the great "Christmas Song". Other titles include "Bouree", "Song For Jeffrey", "Love Story", "Wondering Again", "Up The Pool", "From Later", and "Nursie". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Teacher", "Aqualung", "Thick As A Brick", "Locomotive Breath", "Fat Man", "Living In The Past", "Rainbow Blues", "Nothing Is Easy", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Minstrel & The Gallery", "Warchild", "Passion Play (edit 9)", "Glory Row", "To Cry You A Song", "Thick As A Brick (edit 4)", "A New Yesterday", "Cross Eyed Mary", and the great "Bouree". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Funky bluesy flutey magic from The Tull – includes a wonderful version of Roland Kirk's "Serenade To A Cuckoo" – plus "My Sunday Feeling", "Dharma For One", "It's Breaking Me Up", and "Song For Jeffrey". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the classics "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day" and "Bungle In The Jungle". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The British duo Linx only recorded two albums back in the day – but they also left behind a lot more remixes, single cuts, and other material – more than enough to fully flesh out this 4CD set! First up is the album Intuition – a mixture of fusion and soul – with some hard-jamming tracks that bring sometimes brings more of a focus on the groove than the vocals – and other cuts that steer it into a solid pop soul approach! There's a warmth and depth to the production and the songwriting that's a pretty big step away from some of the more synthy sounding soul efforts of the era – definitely giving this album a lift – and Paul Jackson Jr plays a bit of guest guitar with the group – and Ollie E Brown drums a bit and produces a few of the tracks. Titles include "Together We Can Shine", "Intuition", "You're Lying", "Throw Away The Key", "There's Love", "Rise & Shine", and "Count On Me". Next is Go Ahead from Linx – a duo who could easily come up with some of the catchiest soul of their generation! The set's got a sparkling feel that follows strongly from the previous Intuition album – bouncy grooves that take a clubby groove, and trim it down nicely – making for some really great hooks in the process, and almost acting as a blueprint for crossover 80s soul in years to come! There's some great Brit funk elements in the backing – which makes the set groove differently from US efforts of this type – and we mean that in a great way – some slight darkness in the keyboards and rhythms, which really keeps things from sounding too poppy overall. Titles include "So This Is Romance", "I Wanna Be With You", "Urban Refugee", "All My Yesterdays", and "I Don't Want To Learn". CD3 features 14 more 12" remixes of album cuts – and CD4 features 15 more remixes, plus rare cuts "Good Girls", "Love Was Not Enough", "We're Here", and "I Found It In You". Plus, there's also another 14 more bonus tracks added on the CDs with the other albums – which makes for a box that includes 62 tracks in all! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Procol Harum check into the Grand Hotel – and check out with one of their greatest albums ever! The set's got that majestic sound that was the group's strongest point – a strange mix of the very personal vocals of Gary Brooker and the expansive blend of piano, organ, and guitar that the group often sent soaring to the skies – augmented here with some perfect use of strings and chorus – never too heavy, but all fused perfectly with the core energy of the sextet! In fact, it's that sense of compression – of folding everything together so well – that really makes the group so great, and such an important precursor for so many acts that were beginning to blossom in the UK scene, using a similar approach in different ways. Yet it's that Gary Brooker/Keith Reid sense of songwriting that still sets these guys apart from anyone else – as you'll hear on titles that include "Grand Hotel", "Tojours L'Amour", "TV Caesar", "A Souvenir Of London", "Robert's Box", "Fires", "For Liquorice John", and "A Rum Tale". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Produced by Sir George Martin. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A massive package of work from Bedlam – an early project from drummer Cozy Powell, and one with a legacy that's surprisingly bigger than the single album they issued back in the day! The first 2CDs feature both a new mix and 1973 mix of the self-titled Bedlam album – a searing set that stands as a great bridge between generations and styles on the UK hard rock scene! The group's most famous member is drummer Cozy Powell – the ersatz leader of the lineup – but the whole combo hits on all burners, with great lead vocals from Frank Aiello, guitar from Dave Ball, and bass from Dennis Ball – plus keyboards on the set from both Max Middleton and Felix Pappalardi – the latter of whom produced. Powell's drums are fantastic throughout – really driving the whole thing along – and Aiello comes across like some lost lead act from the glory days of the arena scene. The set features one killer break track called "Seven Long Years" – a stone jammer that begins with some great drums that break nicely into guitars – and other titles include "Believe In You", "Hot Lips", "Sweet Sister Mary", "Putting On The Flesh", "Set Me Free", and "The Beast". CD3 features a Live In London set from 1973; CD4 features a Live in New York set from 1974; CD5 features a related Big Bertha Live In Hamburg set from 1970; and CD6 features 16 more formative tracks from 1968 to 1970, recorded as Bedlam, Ace Kefford Stand, Big Bertha, and Ideal Milk. CD

A crossover classic from the lovely Deborah Harry – a tune that broke Blondie big on the airwaves, yet which also had a great life of its own in the clubs – no doubt due to its driving Giorgio Moroder-influenced disco beat! Yet the track's also got a lot more to live up to, too – an important meeting of punk and disco – reconciled for just a minute, at a level that makes the track a cornerstone for both generations! 7-inch, Vinyl record

The breakthrough album by Blondie! Parallel Lines is their third album overall, and having been released only 7 months after their second, you know they were hungry to break big – and they do it here with unbeatable cool. For as tight and bright as as the sound is, a trademark of producer Mike Chapman, there's still something of the raucous downtown energy here – and also some pretty great stylistic strides, such as the disco-aware smash "Heart Of Glass". Includes the equally classic "One Way Or Another" plus "Hanging On The Telephone", "Just Go Away", "I Know But I Don't Know" "Will Anything Happen", "Picture This", "11:59 and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal album from the New York scene – one that took the sound of the lower east side into the bedrooms of America – thanks to the tightness and charm of the group! Chris Stein is in the lead on loads of fantastically sharp guitar lines, Clement Burke gives the music a mighty nice kick on drums, and James Destri brings in a range of keyboard elements that perfectly hang the record between early punk and new wave modes – and maybe underscore some of the beautifully tuneful lead vocals from the great Debby Harry! There's few better places to start if you're looking to leap into Blondie – and titles include the classic "I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear", plus "I'm On E", "Fan Mail", "Bermuda Triangle Blues", "Youth Nabbed As Sniper", "I Didn't Have The Nerve To Say No", "Cautious Lip", "Detroit 442", and "Love At The Pier". LP, Vinyl record album

The mindblowing debut of De La Soul – a set that's inarguably one of the most important records in hip hop history – overflowing with playful, endearingly oddball trio rhymes and Prince Paul production at it's most sprawlingly sampled and creative! The set has classic songs that stand out well enough on their own – but they're all also wonderfully linked together as a whole, making the album one of the first really well-thought out full length albums in hip hop – filled with loosely connective skits with recurring characters that are vital to the experience of listening to the record as a whole! Additionally, the set is especially fascinating given its 1989 release year – a time when so many of the contemporaneous crews and solo MCs on both the east coast and west coast were going grittier, darker and more profane – but it doesn't feel like a conscious reaction to that, as much it feels like sharp trio and a brilliant producer carving out their own damn creative niche. Includes "Me Myself & I", "The Magic Number", "Plug Tunin", "Say No Go", "Tread Water", "Eye Know", "Buddy" and much more! LP, Vinyl record album

The mindblowing debut of De La Soul – a set that's inarguably one of the most important records in hip hop history – overflowing with playful, endearingly oddball trio rhymes and Prince Paul production at it's most sprawlingly sampled and creative! The set has classic songs that stand out well enough on their own – but they're all also wonderfully linked together as a whole, making the album one of the first really well-thought out full length albums in hip hop – filled with loosely connective skits with recurring characters that are vital to the experience of listening to the record as a whole! Additionally, the set is especially fascinating given its 1989 release year – a time when so many of the contemporaneous crews and solo MCs on both the east coast and west coast were going grittier, darker and more profane – but it doesn't feel like a conscious reaction to that, as much it feels like sharp trio and a brilliant producer carving out their own damn creative niche. Includes "Me Myself & I", "The Magic Number", "Plug Tunin", "Say No Go", "Tread Water", "Eye Know", "Buddy" and much more! LP, Vinyl record album

An insanely wonderful record from De La Soul – a set that's sometimes eclipsed by its legendary precursors, but which would easily stand as the best record in the catalog by any other group! Prince Paul's production is impeccable – leaner than before, likely due to new restrictions on samples – but with a focus that really hones in on the incredible word play that De La have developed even more strongly than before! That strong sense of whole album presentation the group really helped forge in hip hop is definitely in place here – on titles that include the classics "Ego Trippin' (Part 2)" and "Breakadawn", "Eye Patch", "En Focus", "Patti Dooke", "I Be Blowin'", "3 Days Later", "Area", "I Am I Be", "In The Woods", and "Stone Age". LP, Vinyl record album

If De La Soul took the world by storm with their groundbreaking debut, they definitely pushed hip hop even farther ahead with this killer second album – a record that refines all the best impulses of the first set, and has the trio coming across with an even greater command of the space of a full length set! After a decade or more where most hip hop albums were just a string of singles and other cuts, De La (along with Public Enemy and a select few others) really helped the medium move into the realm of the album – weaving together cuts that are killer enough to be singles with all sorts of skits and album tracks, all with a vibe that has the whole thing flowing together wonderfully! The humor and wit of the group in their youth is still very much on point, as is the production work of Prince Paul – and the album bubbles over with longform imagination and careful execution that many groups could still hope to match! The samples are superb, nice and funky – and titles include "Oodles Of O's", "Talkin Bout Hey Love", "A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays", "Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa", "Ring Ring Ring", "Keepin The Faith", "Bitties In The BK Lounge", "Pass The Plugs", "Pease Porridge", and "Fanatic Of The B Word". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Titles include "Crossfire", "Working John Working Joe", "Uniform", "The Pine Marten's Jug", "Batteries Not Included", "Prtect & Survive", and "Black Sunday". CD

Includes "Stuck With You", "Jacob's Ladder", "Hip To Be Square", and more. CD

Procol Harum were one of those groups who continued to sound amazing, even way past their initial hits – as you'll discover here on this wonderful gem from 1974! The album's got everything we love in the group very firmly in place – that strange mix of blues roots and drama, fused with loads of great organ and piano lines, and topped with the always-unique vocals of Gary Brooker – a singer who can make even the simplest lyric sound wonderful, but always without ever overstating his case! The balance is hard to describe in words, but it's perfectly Procol-like throughout – on well-penned, well-produced tracks that include "Beyond The Pale", "Nothing But The Truth", "The Idol", "Thin End Of The Wedge", "New Lamps For Old", "Butterfly Boys", and "As Strong As Sampson". CD

Previously unreleased demos! 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of the most important albums on the mighty 2 Tone label – and part of a huge ska revival on the British scene that would send ripples through modern music for years to come! And sure, the words "ska" and "revival" in the same sentence can often make most folks wince – but The Specials here work at a time long before the mode was reduced to cliche – and during a punk rock period when their contributions were especially vital – presented beautifully here on an album that's also produced by a young Elvis Costello! There's no overdone jams, no schlocky frat boy modes, just hard-edged London ska with a strong nod back to Kingston roots – on titles that include "A Message To You Rudy","Do The Dog", "It's Up To You", "Doesn't Make It Alright", "Concrete Jungle", "Monkey Man", "(Dawning Of A) New Era", "Too Much Too Young", and "Gangsters". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The debut of Arrested Development – a worthy critical favorite early in it's release cycle the went on the dismissed by lot of hip hop heads after it became a hit – and a solid, spiritually resonant effort well worth a reappraisal after all these years! They really was no other hip hop group quite like Arrested Development, then or now – led by producer, writer, vocalist Speech, with a solid bedrock of classic samples and live band instrumentation. Good stuff. Tracks include "Man's Final Frontier", "Mama's Always On Stage", "People Everyday", "Blues Happy", "Mr Wendal", "Children Play With Earth", "Raining Revolution", "Fishin 4 Religion", "Give A Man A Fish", "U", "Eve Of Reality", "Natural", "Dawn Of The Dreads", "Tennessee", and "Washed Away". CD

Titles include "Treat Me Right", "Hell Is For Children", "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", "You Better Run", and "Wuthering Heights". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Mick Abrams on lead vocals and guitar – and titles that include "Variations On Nainos", "San Francisco Sketches", "Toys", "Send Your Son To Die", "The Squirreling Must Go On", and "Meanie Monday". LP, Vinyl record album

With "Rapture", "One Way Or Another", "Heart Of Glass", "Call Me", "Atomic", "Rip Her To Shreds", "Hanging OnThe Telephone", "The Tide Is High", "Dreaming" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the finest early efforts from Premier and Guru – their second album – and it's not only one of Gang Starr's greatest, it's one of the greatest hip hop albums, period. Guru's mic presence is as sharply on point as ever here, and the Primo production is also at peak precision. Step Into The Area really encapsulates just about everything we love most soul beats and samples era of hip hop. Absolutely essential – and filled with killer cuts like "Step In The Arena", "Game Plan", "Just To Get A Rep", "Check The Technique", and "Who's Gonna Take The Weight". 18 tracks in all. CD

A groundbreaking meeting of musical icons – with veteran jazz greats, a couple of then-young guns, and one of the MCs who helped bring jazz into hip hop in the first place! Jazzmatazz bridges both stylistic and generational boundaries in incredible ways, not only an earnest effort by Guru to pay heartfelt tribute to heroes, but to show his own and subsequent generations its the vitality and longevity jazz music – with a lineup that includes Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, Ronny Jordan, Lonnie Liston Smith, Carleen Anderson, N'Dea Davenport and MC Solaar. 12 tracks in all, including "Slicker Than Most", "No Time To Play", "Loungin", "Sights In The City", "Le Bien, Le Mal", "Transit Ride", "When You're Near", "Down The Backstreets", "Respectful Dedications", "Take A Look At Yourself" and "Trust Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Guests include Richie Havens and Randy Crawford. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Crossfire", "Working John Working Joe", "Uniform", "The Pine Marten's Jug", "Batteries Not Included", "Prtect & Survive", and "Black Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

The album that really broke Jethro Tull out of the prog rock underground and into the mainstream – and a set that showed that the group weren't just a combo with creative use of flute, but a band that could really rock off their ass when they wanted to! Previous records were all pretty great, but there's definitely something special in the air with this one – an extra-amped version of the group that even seems to have Ian Anderson's flute blowing out all stops, and his vocals sounding even more menacing than before! Martin Barre's maybe the real master, though – searing on guitar, and punctuating all of Anderson's efforts with his own mad energy – on titles that include the classic "Aqualung", plus "Wondering Aloud", "Cheap Day Return", "Cross Eyed Mary", "My God", "Slipstream", "Locomotive Breath", "Wind Up", and "Mother Goose". CD

Features the titles "Beastie", "Clasp", "Slow Marching Band", "Seal Driver", "Watching Me Watching You", "Broadsword", "Pussy Willow", and "Fallen On Hard Times". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Old Brown Mouse", "Weathercock", "Journeyman", "Moths", "No Lullaby", and "And The Mouse Police Never Stops". CD

Titles include "Old Brown Mouse", "Weathercock", "Journeyman", "Moths", "No Lullaby", and "And The Mouse Police Never Stops". LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded live on tour. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of classics – including "Living In The Past", "Aqualung", "Bungle In The Jungle", "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day", "Life's A Long Song", and "Thick As A Brick". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Jethro Tull's classic prog album–or is it a parody of a prog album? The LP-length "song", filled with dense lyrics, alternates between hard rock, English folk, and classical. CD

Titles include "Taxi Grab", "Pied Piper", "Chequered Flag", "Big Dipper", "Bad Eyed & Loveless", "Quizz Kid", and "From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The British duo Linx only recorded two albums back in the day – but they also left behind a lot more remixes, single cuts, and other material – more than enough to fully flesh out this 4CD set! First up is the album Intuition – a mixture of fusion and soul – with some hard-jamming tracks that bring sometimes brings more of a focus on the groove than the vocals – and other cuts that steer it into a solid pop soul approach! There's a warmth and depth to the production and the songwriting that's a pretty big step away from some of the more synthy sounding soul efforts of the era – definitely giving this album a lift – and Paul Jackson Jr plays a bit of guest guitar with the group – and Ollie E Brown drums a bit and produces a few of the tracks. Titles include "Together We Can Shine", "Intuition", "You're Lying", "Throw Away The Key", "There's Love", "Rise & Shine", and "Count On Me". Next is Go Ahead from Linx – a duo who could easily come up with some of the catchiest soul of their generation! The set's got a sparkling feel that follows strongly from the previous Intuition album – bouncy grooves that take a clubby groove, and trim it down nicely – making for some really great hooks in the process, and almost acting as a blueprint for crossover 80s soul in years to come! There's some great Brit funk elements in the backing – which makes the set groove differently from US efforts of this type – and we mean that in a great way – some slight darkness in the keyboards and rhythms, which really keeps things from sounding too poppy overall. Titles include "So This Is Romance", "I Wanna Be With You", "Urban Refugee", "All My Yesterdays", and "I Don't Want To Learn". CD3 features 14 more 12" remixes of album cuts – and CD4 features 15 more remixes, plus rare cuts "Good Girls", "Love Was Not Enough", "We're Here", and "I Found It In You". Plus, there's also another 14 more bonus tracks added on the CDs with the other albums – which makes for a box that includes 62 tracks in all! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album