More of a journey than just a straight record – as this incredible 3CD set brings together all the recordings that went into Big Star's amazing Third (or 3rd if you please) – one of the best one-time lost rock albums of the 70s! How this could have ever been thought of as anything less than essential is a mystery – and the 3 discs here really show the amazing work that went into recording the whole thing There's this weary quality to the vocals and songwriting of Alex Chilton that's sublime – paired with a raw, rocking underbelly – and finished with strings, horns and other Memphis-y accents. You could think that it all sounds like an ill fit – but no, it's glorious! Titles on the core album include "Stroke It Noel", their great cover of the Velvets "Femme Fatale", "Thank You Friends", "Jesus Christ", "Holocaust", "Blue Moon", and "Take Care". But the package goes way past that – to feature the core album in 20 master tracks (more than the original) – plus 24 more tracks that are "demos to sessions to roughs" – and 25 more tracks that are "roughs to mixes". You'll hear lots of songs change along the way – and the whole thing comes in a book-style package, with detailed notes from both the original session participants, and artists influenced by the group! CD

A relatively short album, at least in terms of hip hop records that can span multiple discs and dozens of tracks – but that also marks the sharp focus that's made Freddie Gibbs such a powerful force in the music – an MC who gets right to the point, and never needs to hide his ideas behind intros and skits! Production here is by a variety of talents – Badbadnotgood, Teddy Walton, Speakerbomb, and others – shifting from track to track, in a nicely varied way – all unified through the subtle majesty of Gibbs! Titles include "Phone Lit", "Homesick", "Alexys", "Amnesia", "Dear Maria", "Crushed Glass", and "20 Karat Jesus". LP, Vinyl record album

Trombonist Steve Swell works here in a shifting set of groups, all recorded during a festival performance in Poland – with smaller group outings on the first CD, and much larger ensemble expressions on the final two discs! Swell is a hell of an improviser, but here he's clearly stepping into a huge role as a visionary leader in free jazz – as great as you'd know in smaller groupings, and majestically elevated to the level of a Barry Guy or Misha Mengelberg as he creates incredible sounds with the larger group. Other players include Gebhard Ullman on bass clarinet and tenor, Niklas Barno on trumpet, Signe Emmeluth on alto, Hanne De Backer on baritone, Per Ake Holmlander on tuba, Elisabeth Coudoux on cello, Jon Rune Strome on bass, and Paal Nilssen Love on drums and percussion – all players who seem to find explosive new energy in their company together here! CD

A searing lost performance from this legendary group – the amazing Yosuke Yamashita on piano, working here with Akira Sakata on alto and clarinet, and Moriyama Takeo on drums – a unit that was one of the greatest improvising trios on the planet at the time! Sure, many folks look to the intensity of the French and German scenes at the start of the 70s – or maybe the American legacy of players like Cecil Taylor or Jimmy Lyons – but Yamashita and Sakata together are simply mindblowing, and have an energy, tone, and sense of timing that's completely their own! Drummer Takeo really knows how to balance things out – and we love these guys so much, material like this is a fantastic addition to their classic catalog. CD

A great little collection that's maybe the opposite of the long-running tradition of "desert island discs" – in that the music here is hardly essential, but would be plenty of fun to hear if you were trapped alone with nowhere else to go! Think of the set as the darker side of exotica at the end of the 50s – a spot where tropical sounds mix with Latin rhythms and some rockish touches too – material from the years before surf guitars were really hitting the mainstream, but older modes were being infused with a bit of electricity and new modes of production – all in ways that make for some very cool cuts collected in the set! The package brings together rare singles from a variety of sources – and titles include "Jivaro" by Harvey Anderson, "Babalu" by Phyllis Branch, "The Lonely Sea" by Rick & Trisha, "Strictly Polynesian" by Davy Jones & The Dolphins, "Midnight" by Hank Levine, "Bongo Heat" by Coral & The South Seas, "Martinique" by Ty & Ed, "Atlantis" by Blue Bells, "Rumba Rhapsody" by Hector Cari & The Dancing Strings, "Ho Ba La La" by Dariel Kay, and "Miserlou" by Vitin Aviles Y Su Orquesta. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection – and one that fills in a crucially under-documented side of the New York dancefloor generation – the wealth of special mixes and edits that were made for that city's important DJs for their own use in clubs! The package sorts through a mountain of never-issued acetates, and goes way past conventional disco or rare club collections – to showcase the special mixing talents these DJs brought to their re-presentation of the material – which was usually done on tape, then pressed onto acetate discs for their own private use! Those rare treasures are brought forth here – in a beautiful package that's also overflowing with fantastic notes that finally give this lost history its due – all handled by Al Kent – who's a hell of a mixer himself, as well as an underground club historian. Vinyl part 1 features five different records, all with lots of space for the tunes to stretch out – and titles include "I Just Wanna Say I Love You (John Luongo rmx)" by Leon Collins, "What About Love (Tony Gioe rmx)" by Marboo, "Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Double Exposure, "Inside America (Rick Gianatos disco queen acetate edit)" by Juggy Murray Jones, "Dancing Free (John Luongo rmx)" by Hot Ice, "Black Water Gold (Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by The Sunshine Band, "Magic Bird Of Fire (Francois Kevorkian Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Salsoul Orchestra, "It's Good For The Soul (Jay Negron Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Salsoul Orchestra, "My Love Is Free (Walter Gibbons disco madness rmx)" by Double Exposure, "Reaching Out For Happiness (Jonathan Fearing rmx)" by Fay Hauser, "Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Tom Savarese rmx)" by Love Symphony Orchestra, "The Beat Goes On & On (Jim Burgess rmx)" by Ripple, "I Wanna Be Near You (John Morales Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Ruby Andrews, "I've Been Looking For Somebody (Walter Gibbons rmx)" by TC James & The Fist O Funk Orchestra, "The Disco Scene (Rick Gianatos rmx)" by Lake Shore Drive, "Bumpsie's Whipping Cream (Tom Savarese rmx)" by TC James & The Fist O Funk Orchestra, and "Janice (Bobby DJ Guttadoro rmx)" by Skip Mahoney. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection – and one that fills in a crucially under-documented side of the New York dancefloor generation – the wealth of special mixes and edits that were made for that city's important DJs for their own use in clubs! The package sorts through a mountain of never-issued acetates, and goes way past conventional disco or rare club collections – to showcase the special mixing talents these DJs brought to their re-presentation of the material – which was usually done on tape, then pressed onto acetate discs for their own private use! Those rare treasures are brought forth here – in a beautiful package that's also overflowing with fantastic notes that finally give this lost history its due – all handled by Al Kent – who's a hell of a mixer himself, as well as an underground club historian. Vinyl part 2 features five full records – all with lots of space for the tracks to stretch out – and titles include "My Number's Up (Tee Scott rmx)" by The Salsoul Orchestra, "The Love Bug Done Bit Me Again (David Todd rmx)" by Skyliners, "LA Sunshine (Robert Ouimet rmx)" by Aura, "Love Has Come My Way (Jim Burgess rmx)" by Tony Valor Sound Orchestra, "Handsome Ma (Bobby DJ Guttadoro rmx)" by Sparkle Tuhran & Friends, "Love Thang (Tee Scott rmx)" by First Choice, "Burn Me Up (Jellybean Benitez edit)" by Kay Gees, "Love Is The Message (Tee Scott rmx)" by Brooklyn Express, "Changes (Jellybean Benitez rmx)" by Chain Reaction, "J'Ouvert (Frank Sestito rmx)" by John Gibbs & The Jam Band, "By The Way You Dance (Bobby DJ Guttadaro rmx)" by Bunny Sigler, "It's Good For The Soul (Walter Gibbons disco madness version)" by Salsoul Orchestra, and "It's A Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons rmx)" by Gladys Knight & The Pips. LP, Vinyl record album

Blues-a-plenty, but still pretty darn jazzy too – as the "blues" in the title is just Verve's code for the way the album's put together – loose, unstructured, and a great format for Johnny Hodges to do some wonderful blowing on alto sax! The album also features strong work from Ben Webster, too – whose tone is perfect for the late nite vibe of the record – and other players include Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Vic Dickenson on trombone, Billy Strayhorn on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Sam Woodyard on drums – kind of an Ellington small combo, relaxing here in a wonderfully intimate setting. The sound is beautiful, and the album's one of Hodges' best-ever for Verve – with cuts that include "Cool Your Motor", "Honey Hill", "Saturday Afternoon Blues", and "I Didn't Know About You". CD

The first three albums of Japanese noise legends Ruins, all presented in a single set – sounds that are as powerful and mindblowing as when they were first unleashed to the world back in the 80s! The style here is still completely revolutionary – even though so many others have tried to copy it over the years – sounds that were born in punk, but inflected by noise and free jazz – often moving at a blistering pace that's as breathtaking as it is bold! We might make some slight comparison between these guys and the Pussy Galore/Royal Trux generation of American noise guitar – but Ruins are also completely different, and made waves from halfway around the globe that are still being felt today. 51 tracks in all – with titles that include "Crisis", "Human Being", "Entropy", "Makarom Iyaike", "Government", "Grudge", "Divide", "Octopus", "Amalgam", "Infect", "Dadaism", and "Flagment". CD

A fantastic tribute to the legendary Karin Krog – one of our favorite jazz singers of all time – and maybe one of the most creative talents to emerge from the European jazz scene in the past 50 years! Karin's not just a regular singer – she's a hell of a collaborator, and a great experimentalist who's always willing to try out new sounds and styles – modes she's explored since her initial recordings of the 60s, and the wonderful legacy of music she's given us on record from that time onwards – which still results in fantastic new music in recent years too! This package goes way beyond any other Krog collection we've ever seen – not just because it offers up differing discs that look at her many musical "faces" – but also because it brings together recordings for a number of different labels across a great span of time – all to really show the full range of her music! Even if you've got as many of Karin's records as we do, there's plenty that's new here too – and the well-done package divides each disc up into a special theme – with standard material, key collaborations, vocal experiments, and more. The set includes work with John Surman, Steve Kuhn, Marty Paich, Georgie Fame, Don Ellis, Slide Hampton, Red Mitchell, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Drew, Bengt Hallberg, Archie Shepp, and others – and one CD features just spare duets with musicians, and another features some great bigger band material. 59 tracks in all – with loads of surprises! CD

4 discs of Sinatra's finest from his Reprise years! 81 tracks including "Let's Fall In Love", "You'd Be So Easy To Love", "The Last Dance", "It Started All Over Again", "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "I Have Dreamed", "Luck Be A Lady", "Here's To The Losers", "My Kind Of Town", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Moonlight Serenade", "Street Of Dreams", "Strangers In The Night", "All Or Nothing At All", "How Insensitive", "All I Need Is The Girl", "My Way", "A Man Alone", 'What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?", "Just As Though You Were Here", "Nancy", "My Shining Hour", "A Long Night", "Mack The Knife" and loads more! CD

One of the earliest albums ever from Japanese pianist Yosuke Yamashita – and a set that already has him completely on fire, and well into the legacy of music that would continue for years to come! Yamashita is incredible here – almost a Japanese answer to the freedoms of Cecil Taylor, but born of more Monkish origins – as Yosuke throws out these blistering waves of angular lines on the piano – improvising freely, but never losing his sense of direction – and pausing a bit at the start of the second half of the record to allow slight introspection, before then opening up again in freedom! The group features equally on-fire drum work from Takeo Moriyama, plus soprano sax from Seiichi Nakamura – on two long improvised tracks. CD

A great little collection that seeks to put the Bristol scene on the map – and to show the kind of inventive jazz the city's been offering up in recent years! The compilers aim to demonstrate that Bristol has as many newly-creative acts as the sort that have been bubbling up in London on labels like Brownswood – and the range of material here really shows a similar way of blending newer ideas and older execution – especially strong in the rhythm department, and with an effortless mixing of acoustic and electric modes. If you've been digging sounds from Comet Is Coming, Nubya Garcia, and Joe Armon-Jones, this set is a great place to take that interest further – on work that includes "Bergson" and "Jabba" by Waldo's Gift, "3.3 Encke Ups" and "Sea Of Apathy & Indifference" by Run Logan Run, "Flump (Ishamel Ensemble rework)" and "Grook" by Snazzback, "Owl" by Lyrebird, and "Bourdain" by Alun Elliott Williams. CD

A great Japanese jazz soundtrack from the late 60s – as full of feeling and creative inspiration as some of the best French jazz scores of the New Wave! The tunes here mostly stand out as strong jazz numbers on their own – although there are a few shorter, more introspective or scene-setting passages – and although the players and notes are all in Japanese, we can tell you that the music's mostly in a small combo mode, with strong solos on tenor, trumpet, and piano throughout! The release is part of the excellent Cine Jazz series from Disk Union – and it's every bit as wonderful as some of the other reissues they've done. CD

The cover here gives you a good idea of what you're in for – rare material from Japanese electronic composer Hirokazu Tanaka – best known for his work on the scores of important Nintendo games – most of of it from the glory days of the cassette, and pulled from Tanaka's archives! The tracks are often beautifully tuneful – spare melodies handled mostly on keyboards, and augmented with other sonic touches and electronic rhythms – kind of a late 80s extension of some of the more familiar modes of Japanese electronic music at the start of the decade. There are vocal tracks at times, although they're not key to the set – and the package features a whopping 25 tracks in all – including "Martian Bird", "Autumn Wind", "Karasu Demo", "Small Gift", "Fairy Wings", "You & Me Demo", "Space Attack Q", "Coco", "Space X", and "Spacemen's March". CD

An amazing package – decades of work from Duke Ellington, presented here with lots of unreleased tracks as well – the most comprehensive collection of this work that's ever been done! CD

Maybe one of the coolest things we've ever stocked here at Dusty Groove – a totally cool record making machine – one that has a lathe-like process that actually lets you cut your own records! The machine also doubles as a small turntable – so you can also play 7" singles if you want – and it runs on USB power, and can also use a USB input from a phone for a source for the music. The package comes with 10 blank discs total, 5 black and 5 white – and the discs can be cut at 33rpm, for roughly 4 minutes of music, or 45rpm for 3 minutes of music. The box also contains a set of labels and sleeves, and a special issue of a magazine too – with articles in Japanese on the toy record maker! Some assembly required, and all text is in Japanese – but we did find that using Google Translate on our phone helped us understand most of the instructions. Turntable

Here's a heck of a deal if you're into CDs – at least 100 completely random bulk CDs from our bargain basement – all packaged together! The CDs are titles that hit the basement for a variety of reasons – some are titles we just don't sell well, some might have a flaw in the artwork, and a rare few might have an actual defect, like a skip on a track – although these are usually very few. The styles vary as much as the CDs – so you'll get a mix of many genres, as random as the artists and titles included in the box – very much like the boxes of random vinyl we sell here too. At this price, you're paying a nickel or less per CD – so you might even think about re-using the discs in creative ways – or maybe changing out the better jewel cases for some of the damaged ones in your collection! Misc

Right On! Quite possibly the heaviest, baddest music ever laid to tape, this set offers up over 6 hours of some of the deepest, darkest free jazz, afro funk, fist in the air post-modern musique concrete to sprout from Miles' horn and crew! This box closes the door on the studio side of what may be the most influential studio jams wrought at the turn of the 70s, issuing the unedited original takes of the material that Miles and Teo Macero would parse down and edit into On The Corner and Big Fun, plus some material that made it out on various compilations later issued on Columbia, and best of all, a dozen never before released tracks! The core group here is Miles, Michael Henderson, Mtume, Al Foster and Reggie Lucas, but Dave Liebman, Carlos Garnett, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Jack Dejohnette, Pete Cosey, Badal Roy, Bennie Maupin and John McLaughlin, as well as a number of other players, are all featured, which isn't surprising when you consider the ground covered here! The groove here is unstoppable funk, as on the nearly 20 minute jam that is the unedited full take of "On The Corner" and drawn out renditions of "Mtume", "Turnaround", "Ife" and "Helen Butte/Mr Freedom X", but the vibe veers in other directions too, as with the breezy "Maiysha", the multilayered "Calypso Frelimo" and the spacious "He Loved Him Madly". There's 31 tracks spread out over the 6 discs, ther unissued gems include "Hip-Skip", "Chieftain", "What They Do", "Peace" and "Mr Foster", and as you'd expect, the box is extra deluxe, with a thick booklet full of notes and some great quotes from the band, and a sweet metallic box to hold it all together! Vote Miles! CD

Maybe the biggest album ever from The Cure – a set that marked a high moment in maybe the second chapter of their career – at a time when they'd gone from being a cult underground band to becoming a surprisingly durable group in the long run! That darker energy of Robert Smith's earlier years is still here, but oddly refocused with these glimmers of hope from time to time – almost as if they'd gone from the coldness of standing on the beach to the realization that they were flag-bearers for a generation of misfits. Titles include "To Wish Impossible Things", "Open", "High", "End", "A Letter To Leslie", "Friday I'm In Love", "From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea", "Doing The Unstuck", and "Wendy Time". 2022 Deluxe Edition includes new mastering and two discs of bonus material! CD

A rare soundtrack session from Japanese jazz legend Hideo Shiraki – maybe one of the earliest recordings we've ever seen from the drummer – and one that also features work from pianist Takeshi Inomata and saxophonist Hidehiko "Sleepy" Matsumoto as well! The cover's somewhat unassuming, but the music inside is quite vivid and rich – jazz tracks used as a film score, often with a quality that's like the best jazz soundtracks coming out of French and Italian cinema at the end of the 50s – with a very different vibe than some of Shiraki's later albums as a leader! There's a nicely moody, late nite quality to many of the tracks – and instrumentation shifts throughout, but includes vibes, tenor, guitar, and piano – all elements used without as much heavy drum work from Hideo as you might expect. The set features dozens of short tunes, and runs for over 70 minutes in length – a huge document of this rare Japanese jazz material from the postwar years. CD

An album recorded in the Netherlands, but a set that hits right to the heart of RL Burnside's Mississippi roots – thanks to a beautifully spare, careful presentation of the music! Most numbers feature just Burnside on vocals and guitar – with a vibe that's similar to the field recordings that first introduced the world to his talents – those delta-raised styles that have an immediate tie back to the early years of blues on 78rpm discs, especially in this session – where RL seems to almost be reaching back further than the style of some of his other recordings of the same period. Titles include "Skinny Woman", "See What My Buddy Done", "Shake Em On Down", "Don't Care How Long You're Gone", "Jumper On The Line", "Long Haired Doney", and "Greyhound Bus Station". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a plain white cover, but a sound that's mighty rich – served up by a hip London collective led by drummer Chiminyo, and featuring very soulful contributions from Axel Kaner-Lidstrom on trumpet, James Mollison on tenor, David Mrakpor on keyboards and bass, and Wonky Logic on bass synth and keyboards! There's vocals along the way too – from singers who include Dunja Botic, Plumm, and Solomon OB – and the record is a live one, with ver spontaneous energy in that best London mode of mixing jazz and soul with some contemporary currents – on titles that include "MIA", "Mirrors", "Rampant Monarchist Chant", "Naughty Daddy", "Pressure", "El Flat", "The Future's Ours", and "Chat". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare soundtrack from Japanese trumpeter Terumasa Hino – and a set that's quite different than most of his albums of the time! There's still a strong jazz approach to the music – often with Teru's trumpet out in the lead – but the tunes are relatively sort, and often pretty darn groovy – almost an extension of the mode he hit briefly in the late 60s, but with more funk in the mix as well – thanks to some great electric piano, played with a rough-edged vibe that's almost noisy at times – and some basslines that really help set the groove for each tune. Titles and players are all in Japanese – but the music sparkles strongly, even without translation of the details – a killer batch of jazzy and funky numbers from the start of the 70s! CD

One of Sonny Rollins' best albums ever, and a totally inspired, totally non-stop freewheeling live set, recorded with Don Cherry, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins! Working on long tracks in an unfettered setting, Rollins' hits one of those rare moments of genius where he can turn his solo over and over again – never losing interest, and always opening up new territory – at a level that easily matches the oft-made claim that he's one of the greatest tenor talents ever on the tenor sax! The album features only 3 long tracks, all dominated by masterful work by Rollins – and titles include "Oleo", "Dearly Beloved", and "Doxy". CD

An amazing array of southern soul – a 3CD package that's overflowing with classics in the genre, but which also features a fair bit of rare numbers too! The presentation of the whole thing is completely top-shelf – with a 72 page booklet that's almost worth the price of admission alone, supported with 3CDs of music containing a total of 75 songs in all! The set's divided up thematically – discs titled You Don't Miss Your Water, The Rainbow Road, and The River, respectively – and even if you've already got a fair bit of southern soul in your collection, you'd be hard pressed to find so much great music anywhere else, especially presented this well. Titles include "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by William Bell, "Polly Wally" by Tony Borders, "Faithful & True" by ZZ Hill, "What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me" by Paul Thompson, "I Can't Give You My Heart" by Jimmy Braswell, "Lead Me On" by Gwen McCrae, "Let's Face Facts" by The Masqueraders, "Something I Never Had" by Jarvis Jackson, "Mumble In My Ear" by Marcell Strong, "Tired Of Being Alone" by Al Green, "Jody Come Back & Get Your Shoes" by Bobby Newsom, "Starting All Over Again" by Mel & Tim, "I'll Play The Blues For You" by Geater Davis, "I'll Make It Up To You" by Clay Hammond, "The One You Can't Have" by Shirley Walton, "My Adorable One" by Joe Simon, "Losin Boy" by Eddie Giles, and "We Always Come Back Strong" by Sam Dees. CD

Essential! This is the landmark album that forever put saxophonist Joe Harriott on the map, and it's a brilliant batch of tracks that prove that Harriott was advancing the jazz avant garde in England as much as players like Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor were advancing it in America. Despite the "free form" of the title, the tracks are more "new thing" – somewhat structured, with a rhythmic approach that's still a little straight, but solos that go nice and outside. Joe's overall conception is a beautiful mix of angular thinking with freely expressed soulful emotion – and the record's one that ranks up there with the 10 most groundbreaking of the 60s! The group's about as fantastic as you could ever expect from England at the time – with Shake Keane on trumpet, Pat Smythe on piano, Coleridge Goode on bass, and Phil Seamen on drums – and titles include "Formation", "Coda", "Abstract", "Straight Lines", and "Impression". CD

One of the trippiest entries into the Trip series – and one of the newest selections of tunes too! While most of the other Trip collections bring together some older bits from the Universal catalog, this one mostly sticks to recent years – and melds together a nice blend of electronica and left-of-center pop and rock tracks from the past decade or so – all picked by Gary Lightbody with a bit of help from Roy Kerr. The 2CD version is mixed on both discs – with the tracks sliding into one another nicely. Titles include "You Can't Stop It" by Kojak, "Way Behind" by Low & Springheel Jack, "My Sex" by Sir Drew, "Staring At The Sun" by TV On The Radio, "Everywhere" by Machines, "With Arms Outstretched" by Rilo Kiley, "Christmas Song" by Joy Zipper, "Sleaze" by Harco Point, and "Green Green Grass Of Tunnel" by Mum. 32 tracks in all. CD

80s Afro grooves, recorded in Belgium – given a nice twist by the Crammed Discs label, which was one of the first to really open up African styles with more European elements! Bony Bikaye handles vocals, and Hector Zazou plays plenty of keyboards and adds in beat – so there's an electro-styled groove to most cuts, in a mode that's similar to some of the New Africa material on Celluloid Records from the same time! The remaining member of the group handles lots of saxophone solos – but the trio also get some studio help that includes more saxophone from Marc Hollander. Titles include "Angel", "Mr Manager", "Nostalgie", and "Soki Akei". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album, and an incredible cultural moment as well – as Japanese avant piano legend Yosuke Yamashita pays tribute to the great Muhammad Ali – on the occasion of his visit to Japan for the World Heavyweight match in 1972! Half the record features instrumental selections with a blistering intensity – Yamashita moving at a mindblowing clip on the piano, at a level that's right up there with the best Cecil Taylor work at the time – completely unbridled, and driven onwards by the equally incredible work on drums from Takeo Moriyama! Reedman Seiichi Nakamura is also part of the trio – blowing amazing tenor and soprano lines that are in their own territory apart from the piano, but equally intense too. Other tracks on the record actually feature Ali himself – some selections from a press conference, some in the ring, and some with that unabashed pride and confidence that made him such a unique cultural figure in the 70s! Wonderful throughout – and a completely unique record from a completely unique moment. CD

Over 20 years worth of unheard recordings from the writer/producer of The Delaware Road – work that's been pulled from an assortment of cassettes, DATs, and minidiscs – and which represent a similar evolution in electronics as the technology on which it was recorded! Some of the tracks here have a spare, moody vibe that's in the sound library mode – others echo some of the industrial styles that began in the 80s, then shift rhythms as the decades move on. The CD is overflowing with cuts – over two dozen in all – and titles include "Counting Down", "Word Falling", "Science Vs Religion", "Stimulacra", "Persian Rug", "Porridge Funnel", "You & Me Both", "Furrofax", "Contusion", and "Sample Hold". CD

Titles include "Higher & Higher", "Good Times", "Words", "I Don't Want To Talk About It", "We're All Alone", "The Hungry Years", "Southern Lady", and "Who's To Bless & Who's To Blame". LP, Vinyl record album

A treasure trove of Nuggets from the LA Scene – fantastic material from a far reaching line up of gritty garage rockers, sunshine pop tunesmiths, psychedelic groovers, trippy psyche folk and much more – masterfully collected on 4 discs by the box set geniuses at Rhino! With such a diverse catalog to mine, the CDs are divided surprisingly well, and like other Nuggets comps, it's a great way to intro a ton of obscurities, while still including bigger hits that deserve to be remembered. Packaged in a beautiful 48 page book with essays, artist commentaries, tons of great photos, and even a 60s LA club guide! Disc one On The Strip includes: "Riot On The Sunset Strip" by The Standells, "Gentle As It May Seem" by Iron Butterfly, "Take A Giant Step" by The Guilloteens, "Tripmaker" by The Seeds, "Girl In Your Eye" by Sprit, "Eventually" by Peanut Butter Conspiracy and many more. Disc two The Studio Scene includes: "Action, Action, Action" by Keith Allison, "The Rebel Kind" by Dino, Desi & Billy, "Yellow Balloon" by Yellow Balloon, "Montage Mirror" Roger Nichols Trio, "Don't Say No" by The Oracle, "Baby, Please Don't Go" by Ballroom and lots more. Disc three Beyond The City includes: "Jump, Jive & Harmonies" by Thee Midnighters, "She Done Moved" by The Spats, "Underground Lady" by Kim Fowley, "Our Time Is Running Out" by The Yellow Payges and many more. Disc four New Directions has 3 previously unreleased tracks: "Sit Down I Think I Love You" by Stephen Stills & Richie Furay, "Words" (demo) by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, and "Once Upon A Time" by Tim Buckley; plus "November Night" by Peter Fonda, "Marshmallow Skies" by Rick Nelson. "You Set The Scene" by Love and many more. 101 songs on 4CDs! CD

Seminal soulful bop! Horace Parlan's Blue Note sides remain some of the most collectible recordings in the label's discography, and this dynamite collection brings all of the pianists work as a leader into one place! This set includes all of the albums Movin' & Groovin', Us Three, Speakin' My Piece, Headin' South, On The Spur Of The Moment, Up & Down and Happy Frame Of Mind. Sidemen include Stanley and Tommy Turrentine, Booker Ervin, Grant Green, Johnny Coles, George Tucker, Ray Barretto and Al Harewood. There's a total of 52 tracks spread out over 5 discs, with titles that include "Up In Cynthia's Room", "Lady Bird", "Us Three", "Wadin'", "Return Engagement", "Headin' South", "Low Down", "Congalegre", "Borderline", "Rastus", "Speakin' My Piece", "On The Spur Of The Moment", "Skoo Chee", "Al's Tune", "The Book's Beat", "Fugee", "The Other Part Of Town", "Lonely One", "Home Is Africa", "A Tune For Richard", "Back From The Gig", "Dexi", "Kucheza Blues", and "Happy Frame Of Mind". CD

Three classic albums from Shoes, plus bonus tracks, and a full CD worth of rare material too! First up is Present Tense – a power-pop classic from Shoes – their first full length for Elektra Records, and a set that stands with all the best end of 70s gems from either coast! The songs are impeccable, and the group do a fantastic job of blending sharper guitars with really great lyricism – a mode that maybe makes the Illinois group a strong precursor for territory that The Replacements wouldn't hit until many years later – and which makes just about every track on the album a precious nugget that just gets better and better with time! Titles include "Now & Then", "Every Girl", "I Don't Wanna Hear It", "Three Times", "In My Arms Again", and "Too Late". On Tongue Twister, Shoes continue the brilliance of their first album for Elektra – serving up the kind of music that was so well-done, so subtle, it was maybe missed by most of the world at the time – even though it's gone onto the status of classic, thanks to legions of fans and critics! Shoes have a way with a tune that's unlike anyone else – maybe that compressed charm of Big Star, but fused into the sharper modes of the power pop years – but without any of the too commercial modes of some of the bigger groups of the time. Instead, the whole thing feels like you've just stumbled upon a brilliant band, playing in a backroom bar – which, unfortunately, is how Shoes spent too much of their career. Titles include "Only In My Sleep", "She Satisfies", "Found A Girl", "Hate To Run", "When It Hits", "Yes Or No", "Your Imagination", and "Girls Of Today". On Boomerang, Shoes maybe look a bit too new wave on the cover, but still sound perfect within – very much in charge of that perfect yet understated approach to a tune that has gone on to make them legends in all the many years since this album was released! The group were never out to change the world, and maybe that held them back at the time – but they were also never trying for big chart success, or too-slick modes – and there's a wonderfully honest, down to earth approach to the songwriting and production that clearly sets the stage for all the bigger late 80s groups that would follow in their wake. Nearly every tune is a completely catchy mofo – and titles include "Curiosity", "In Her Shadow", "Double Talk", "The Summer Rain", "Under The Gun", "The Tube", and "What Love Means". 4CD set features a huge amount of bonus material – 8 track demo versions of all three albums, added to their discs – and a bonus CD of 18 more rare tracks – all in a box, with a big booklet of notes! CD

A box packed with nothing but cracking hard bop! All of Lee Morgan's seminal 50s sides for Blue Note assembled in one package, including the albums Indeed!, Volume Two, Volume Three, City Lights, the Cooker and Candy. Morgan's quite young on these sessions, but his voice is fully formed and he plays with fire throughout, as do the sidemen, who include Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Benny Golson, Gigi Gryce, Bobby Timmons, Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor, Sonny Clark, Curtis Fuller, and Wynton Kelly. There's 37 tracks in all, spread out over 4 discs, including "Reggie Of Chester", "Little T", "Stand By", "Latin hangover", "D's Fink", "Slightly Hep", "Hasaan's Dream", "I Remember Clifford", "Mesabi Chant", "Domingo", "City Lights", "Kin Folks", "Heavy Dipper", "New-Ma", and "CTA". CD

A motherlode of Big Star – a fantastic box set featuring nearly 100 songs on 4CDs, more than half of which are previously unreleased – including hard grooving demos, killer live versions, and alternate takes of many classic numbers – as well as the cream of the crop of their uber-essential 70s LP tracks! Big Star get the most props these days as progenitors of powerpop, an accolade they more than earned, but there's an irreplaceable soulful Memphis vibe in their music that's as sweet as can be. Masterful material from one of our favorite rock groups of all time, produced impeccably by the band the great Jim Dickenson. The first 3 discs features a mix of unreleased material and classic album tracks from all 3 of the original studio albums and those more: "Psychedelic Stuff" (original mix), "Try Again" (early version), "Don't Lie To Me", "Country Morn", "Way Out West". "O My Soul", "What's Goin Ahn", "I'm In Love With A Girl", "In The Street", "Dream Lover", "Big Black Car", "Jesus Christ", "Femme Fatale" and many more! The 4th disc features a live set at Lafayette's Music Room, in Memphis TN with 20 tracks, plus this disc is enhanced with "Thirteen" (alternate mix video), featuring what's labeled as the only existing film footage of the band. CD

Recent live material from Djavan – caught with a smallish rock-oriented band, in front of a very lively crowd. The overall feel is quite strong – and Djavan's guitar and soulful voice always manage to please, whatever the setting. There's 2 discs in the set – and titles include "Boa Noite", "Lilas", "Sina", "A Carta", "Esquinas", "Oceano", "Serrado", "Azul", "Samurai", "Meu Bem Querer", and "Amar E Tudo". CD