If we had to pick three men to spend time on a boat with, we'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better trio – the soulful sax of Guy Lafitte, the burning Hammond of Wild Bill Davis, and the jet-propelled drums of Alvin Queen! Davis is working here late in his career, but still sounding pretty great – laidback and a bit mellow, really letting Lafitte's bold tenor take the lead on most tracks – while Alvin Queen kicks it up on the kit a bit more than usual, really hitting some of the toms with a rattling sound that keeps things interesting throughout! The album's a lot more lively than the batch of mellow late nite numbers you might expect from Davis and Lafitte – and titles include "Wrap On", "Three Men On A Boat", "Johnny Come Lately", "Comin On", "Blue Lou", and "Oh Ah Dee Dee Dee". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – "Free Frantic & Funny" and "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams", both previously unissued! CD

A stunning book on the art and style of mod – a volume that's got a huge amount of images and objects from the 60s, plus other bits from the 80s revival and the acid jazz years as well! The book is great – not just fashion, but photographs, magazines, records, and other items that helped define the mod identity in London – spread out with a huge amount of images from page to page, but also some very thoughtfully-penned text, especially as the new moments in the scene come forth – tracing an aesthetic that was so powerful, it couldn't be suppressed. The book is overflowing with rare mod relics – oversized, hardcover, with 270 full color pages within. Book

One of the most unusual albums in the career of trumpet legend Chet Baker – done at a time when he was definitely going through some changes in his life, which also led to some changes in his music too! This set's not unlike a similar date that Stan Getz did for Verve around the same time – larger backings, and tunes that include some contemporary hits that are redone as jazz vehicles – arranged by Jerry Styner, and featuring instrumentation from some key members of The Wrecking Crew! Chet sings a bit – and the richness of the arrangements really push his vocals on those numbers – and honestly, his trumpet has maybe more punch than usual too – almost as if he'd been listening to some of the Hugh Masekela records on Uni, and said "hey, I've got to get my horn out there too!" There's a great mix of melancholy and joy on the record – the former especially in the set's beautiful version of "Come Saturday Morning" – next to other tunes that include "And When I Die", "Evil Ways", "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Something", "Spinning Wheel", and "Vehicle". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that maybe didn't make a huge wave when it came out at the time, but a set that serves as a key springboard for the young Jeff Lynne and all the magic he'd later create with ELO! Although Lynne was making music with Roy Wood in The Move around the same time, the record's definitely more in the warmer, compressed territory that Jeff would expand upon a few years later with his massive classics of the 70s – already sitting strongly at the production deck in the studio, and blending the group's core instrumentation with these arrangements that really create a great sort of fullness in the music. In other words, there's maybe not a full "electric orchestra" vibe here, but the set has a great precursor to that mode – on tracks that include "Come With Me", "Sea Of Dreams", "Going Home", "Please No More Sad Songs", "Big Chief Woolly Bosher", "Someone Knocking", "Girl At The Window", "Hurry Up John", and "A Better Life (The Weather Man Knows)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most meditative albums ever recorded for the Folkways label – two side-long tracks from composer Craig Kupka, each of which has a dream-like, very hypnotic quality! It's a bit hard to say what exactly is going on here in the instrumentation – we definitely hear vibes, or maybe celeste, plus light guitar, percussion, and a touch of piano – but everything has almost a pillowy sort of blend – so that the instrumentation is abstracted from its roots into something completely different – a really thoughtful sonic experience, and one that definitely evokes the "Clouds" in both of its two numbered titles! CD

Maybe the first album we've ever seen from trumpeter Josh Lawrence – and a set that will definitely have us looking out for more! Lawrence composed almost every tune on the set, and works with a sense of color that really lives up to the title – on lines that are sometimes nicely compressed and subtle, and blown on flugelhorn – sometimes bold and vibrant, soaring out in the company of an excellent group that includes Caleb Curtis on some especially nice alto and flute! The keyboards shift throughout – as Orrin Evans plays acoustic piano on five titles, and Adam Faulk handles Fender Rhodes on seven more – creating a nice shift in color that furthers the spirit of the tunes, driven by rhythm work from Madison Rast on bass and Anwar Marshall on drums. Titles include "Black", "An Uptown Romance", "Yellow", "Presence", "The Conceptualizer", and "Green". CD

A trio of classic albums from The Muscle Shoals Horns – with bonus tracks too! First up is Born To Get Down, by a group who were definitely born to get down – as they'd proved before on countless funk and soul sessions in the south – and as they prove once again with this masterful album on their own! The style here is surprisingly well-formed – not just horn players getting to shine in the lead, but a soul group with a tightness that matches some of the hippest, most sophisticated groups of the time – working here with really well-crafted rhythms that often hit an excellent midtempo groove, and avoid any disco-era cliches. Muscle Shoals legend Barry Beckett helps the group out on keyboards, arrangements, and production – and trumpeter Harrison Calloway turns out to be a surprisingly great singer in the lead. Titles include "Born To Get Down", which has a nice keyboard break in the middle, plus "Bump De Bump Yo Boogie", "Give It To Me", "Open Up Your Heart", "Where I'm Coming From", and "Break Down". Doin It To The Bone is a killer album from the Muscle Shoals Horns – and way more than just a set of studio players stepping out for some time in the spotlight! Sure, the MSH had worked on hundreds of sessions by this point – but there's also a sense of ownership and leadership they never had before – a real sense of trying something fresh, and really making the album all their own! To that respect, they certainly use their horns – but also work in plenty of vocals, too – and definitely emphasize the rhythms, which often have this cool compressed vibe that's very much in the best Earth Wind & Fire style – especially on the midtempo numbers that really make the album a killer. Production is by Barry Beckett, who goes for a nicely modern soul approach – and of all the horns, Harrison Calloway is probably the lead talent here – handling most of the arrangements, songwriting, and vocals. Titles include "What's Goin Down", "Dance To The Music", "I Just Wanna Turn You On", "Addicted To Your Love", "Beware Of The Rip Off", and "Keep On Playing That Funky Music". Last up is Shine On – an early 80s set from the mighty Muscle Shoals Horns, but one that cooks every bit as much as their funk classics from the 70s! At some level, this album may well be the group's funkiest – but in a style that's got some of the best 80s qualities in the grooves – the kind of tight basslines and sweet keyboard lines that marked some of the best work of the time – mixed with the group's sublime horn lines, which provide these jazzy inflections that really warm things up in a brilliant way! Most of the rhythms are nicely right in the middle – neither too uptempo, nor too head-noddy – and the whole thing's a really overlooked gem that's a standout funky set from the time. Titles include "Celebrate Recreate Participate", "She Was Once My Woman", "Shoalin", "More Than Ever Now", and "Don't Bust Yo Bubbles". 2CD set features bonus tracks – 7" mixes of "Born To Get Down", "Bump De Bump Yo Boodie", "Where I'm Coming From", and "She Was Once My Woman" – plus "I Just Wanna Turn You On (12" mix)". CD

A full on funky set from French maestro Sauveur Mallia – a record that mixes his own work on bass, keyboards, electronics, and samples with some slight touches over the top on trumpet, trombone, and saxophone too! The style is definitely a lot more 80s than some of Mallia's 70s work – plenty of the more compressed elements you'd know from film scores of the time, and electric drum rhythms and basslines – all popping and percolating in different ways from track to track! The set's credited to the group Swing Family, but it's clear that the whole thing is mostly Mallia's own work – on titles that include "Gentleman & Musician", "Film Action", "Episode Double", "Musical Stars", "Music Force", "Mission Africa", and "Greewich Boulevard". LP, Vinyl record album

You might know JJ Whitefield for his funky work, especially in Poets Of Rhythm – but here, he's opening up a very different side of his musical palette – working in a spiritual jazz mode that comes as a nice surprise! The tracks are spacious and open – mostly rhythmic and modal, and served up with shifting instrumentation that includes keyboards, reeds, guitar, and percussion – never too over the top, and with this great sense of balance that definitely has JJ knowing where to find his strengths in the sound! We loved Whitefield's funky early work, and we're maybe even more impressed with his approach here – on tracks that include "Spectral Realms", "Solar Breeze From The East", "Nothingness", and the long three-part "Infinity Suite". CD

You might know JJ Whitefield for his funky work, especially in Poets Of Rhythm – but here, he's opening up a very different side of his musical palette – working in a spiritual jazz mode that comes as a nice surprise! The tracks are spacious and open – mostly rhythmic and modal, and served up with shifting instrumentation that includes keyboards, reeds, guitar, and percussion – never too over the top, and with this great sense of balance that definitely has JJ knowing where to find his strengths in the sound! We loved Whitefield's funky early work, and we're maybe even more impressed with his approach here – on tracks that include "Spectral Realms", "Solar Breeze From The East", "Nothingness", and the long three-part "Infinity Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

Slammin's a definite good choice for the title of this one – as this 5th entry in the Easy Tempo series seems even funkier than the other volumes – a set that's got plenty of full-on grooves, hand-picked from the genius Italian soundtrack years of the 60s and 70s! If you're looking for a place to start digging the full range of talents of the maestros of this time, you'd be hard pressed to find a better collection – as the Easy Tempo name always means the best bits from this scene, served up in a package that packs a lot more punch than any single individual soundtrack! Titles include "Loco Love Motor" and "The Frog" by Augusto Martelli, "Montreal Non Stop" and "Anice Nuraghi" by Luiz Bacalov, "L'Arcangelo" by Piero Umiliani, "Running Fast" by Stefano Torossi, "Blazing Magnum" by Armando Trovajoli, "Trop's" by Alberto Baldan Bembo, "Vuca" by Tony Mimms, and "The Chicken" by Dick Oliver. CD

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be". This box set includes the original album, 2 LPs of outtakes/jams/rehearsals, 1969 'Get Back' album mixed by Glyn Johns, and the Let It Be EP – all pressed on 180 gram vinyl half-speed mastered at Abbey Road! Also includes a 100 page hardback book with in-depth essays, track-by-track recording information, and foreword by Paul McCartney! LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little record that's bristling over with that future past sort of vibe that makes the Star Creature label so great – 80s electronic elements coming into play with a more contemporary sort of groove – lean, mean, and right on the money all the way through! E Live is definitely a master on the keys – able to bring some jazzier elements into his lines here – as he steps out strongly in a mostly instrumental setting over some bassy beats and heady basslines – on titles that include "Mood Swing", "I Feel It", "Friday Night Flight", "Cadillac Breeze", "Traffic Jam", "Stranger Dayz", "You Got Me", "City Girl", "Slapadelic", and "Wise Up Rise Up". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible first album from The Moody Blues – way way different than any of their later high-concept work, and much more in the best soul and R&B-drenched material of the UK mod scene of the time! A number of cuts here are remakes of American soul tracks – including their stellar take on "Go Now" – and like some of the Moodies' best contemporaries, like Manfred Mann, the group really transform the material – and don't just offer up blue-eyed takes on the tunes. Instead, there's a free sense of play with the material – leanings that are definitely rockish on the solos, even though the overall vibe is quite soulful – and done with this tightly compressed style that's perfect for the vocals of the young Denny Laine – with a vibe that's further expanded by some nice use of echo in the production. Surprisingly wonderful – and very different than "Knights In White Satin" – with titles that include "Go Now", "I'll Go Crazy", "True Story", "Can't Nobody Love You", "I've Got A Dream", and "Let Me Go". LP, Vinyl record album

A great package of work from Shoes – one of the finest acts to come from the Illinois scene in the 70s – presented here with three full albums, and bonus tracks too! First up is their seminal Black Vinyl Shoes – an album that may well stand as the group's lasting treasure! The set's got a sharp-edged quality that still sounds pretty tremendous all these many years later – power pop, but without any commercial elements to smooth out its energy – served up with a raw, earnest quality that's neither punk nor hard rock – yet which deserved to be praised every bit as much as the best contemporary efforts in those genres too! These guys have a hell of a way with a hook, yet never hit you over the head with it either – and there's a lack of posturing that's really refreshing – a key difference between the sound of Shoes and their bigger Northern Illinois contemporaries Cheap Trick – an attitude that's different than, yet not that far off from the energy of The Replacements to come. Titles include "Capital Gain", "Boys Don't Lie", "She'll Disappear", "Fatal", "It Really Hurts", "Nowhere So Fast", and "Fire For Awhile". Bazooka is the long-lost first album from Shoes – recorded at home, and even rawer than any later releases – appearing here on vinyl for the very first time! The group are already pretty amazing at this early point – right on the money, and almost with more of a punkish vibe at points – although other tunes have them ripping out these mean guitar lines that are definitely way too ballsy for early punk. The songwriting is superb – amazing considering how young the guys were, and that the record was really just recorded for their own initial interest – and not a bigger company looking for a hit. There's also more darkness than in later years too – not everywhere, but at key points that make for a nice edge to the record. Titles include "Pinheads", "Love Took A Turn", "Rock Your One", "Along With Love", "New Meat", "I'm Brazen", "The Atlantic", "My Anisette", and "Educated". Last is One In Versailles – the debut album from Shoes – a cracker of a first record from any band, but a set that hardly made a dent at the time – given that it was only pressed in a limited run of 300 copies! That doesn't stop it from being a real moment of greatness, though – because the set sparkles with charm right from the very first note – nicely less polished than Shoes' later work, especially their major debut on Elektra – with a raspy intensity that really furthers the ideas wrapped up in the core of the tunes – and which almost comes across with the earnest yet relaxed quality of The Feelies in parts – even though this one was cut years before the emergence of that group! Titles include "One Night", "The Sun", "Banjo", "Eggroll Rock", "Do I Get So Shy", "Un Dans Versailles", "Kristine", and "Dance In Your Sleep". Comes in a box with a big booklet of notes – and 18 bonus tracks that include "Rock & Roll Freak", "My Husband's Home", "I'd Like To Take You Out Again", "Nothing Means More", "I Can Make It (demo)", "I Wanna Hide", "Okay (Bomp version)", "Tomorrow Night (Bomp version)", "Baby's Gone", "Ever Again", "Lucky Tail", "Capital Offense, "She'll Disappear (demo)", "I'll Take You Away (alt)", and "Like I Told You (second version)". CD

The legendary solo debut of Bunny Wailer – a set that maybe marks him as the most righteous member of The Wailers! The style here is heavy on the roots tip, but there's also a special sort of vibe going on too – these warm currents that are laced with occasional touches of jazz, amidst a mellow-flowing presentation that's right up there with the best of Island Records in the mid 70s – but somehow deeper too! Peter Tosh joins a great lineup that includes Winston Barrett, Robbie Shakespear, Winston Wright, and other Jamaican instrumental giants – but it's definitely Bunny who holds the whole thing together with a spirit that's quite different than his famous previous partner, Bob Marley. Titles include "Blackheart Man", "Rasta Man", "This Train", "Reincarnated Souls", "Armagideon", "The Oppressed Song", "Fig Tree", and "Fighting Against Convictions". CD

"Blues" might be a surprising word for the title of an album by Paul Bley – especially given his modern inclinations – but the term definitely fits here, as this set of solo piano performances by Bley has a wonderfully moody, mellow quality – and a surprising amount of soul at times too! Paul's always had his warmth – although it usually comes across in more lyrical passages – but here, there's a richer focus on the left side of the piano, which opens up the bottom, and makes for some wonderful core sounds as Bley expresses himself more nimbly on the right. The titles are all originals, with maybe a bit more structure than improvisations – and tunes include "Baby Narrows", "Late Night Blue", "Downtown", "Underground", "Up Hill", "Rear Projection", and "Into The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful live work from Bill Evans – issued here for the first time, and the kind of special concert that really makes a great addition to his classic catalog! Bill Evans live can really be something wonderful – and that's definitely the case here, as he makes this personal magic with the keys of the piano – Evans-esque balancing of silence and sound, with painterly colors that always feel natural and organic, never forced – like Bill's fingertips are just spreading out, and channeling sound through the instrument! Rhythm is from Eddie Gomez on bass and Elliot Zigmund on drums – both players whose work here goes far past the conventional – and titles include "Sareen Jurer", "Sugar Plum", "Two Lonely People", "TTT", "Up With The Lark", "Blue Serge", and "Nardis". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sounds from Flying Lotus – an artist who just keeps on pushing past any conventional expectations, to a point where his music is almost a genre unto itself! The record's got this very tripped-out sort of vibe – very much in keeping with the image on the cover – and while many others are exploring this territory of late, few ever even get close to the right sort of mix that's going on here – subtle elements of soul, funk, jazz, hip hop, and maybe a million other influences – all flowing through the double-length space of the set, as it Flying Lotus redefines the sound of soul in the modern age. The set's got guest work from Thundercat, Shabazz Palaces, David Lynch, George Clinton, Anderson Paak, Little Dragon, Solange, and others – and titles include "Post Requisite", "Takashi", "Spontaneous", "More", "Burning Down The House", "Actually Virtual", "Find Your Own Way Home", "The Climb", "Debbie Is Depressed", "Black BAloons Reprise", and "Land Of Honey". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer soul from Heatwave – a tight little group who definitely made the UK proud at the end of the 70s! The album's a bit more obscure than the group's first few, but the sound is very much the same – a warmly grooving approach that's neither too disco, nor too sleepy – always catchy on the hooks, and recorded with a nicely flanged style on the vocals – so that they're compressed a bit, and slide nicely in alongside the beats and keys! The mighty Rod Tempterton's still handling a good deal of the arrangements on the set, and some of the backings are orchestrated by Johnny Cameron – almost in a late 70s update of his earlier funky style. Titles include the funky cut "Gangsters Of The Groove", plus "All I Am", "Dreamin You", "Party Suite", "Posin' 'Til Closin'", "Turn Around", and "Where Did I Go Wrong", a sweet little ballad. The Big Break UK remastered edition has a massive 9 bonus tracks – including "Gangsters Of The Groove (Single Version)", "Jitterbuggin' (UK Single Version)", "Where Did I Go Wrong (UK Single Version)", "Posin' 'Til Closin' (UK Single Version)" and other alternate mixes b-sides "Find Someone Like You" and "Wack That Axe". CD