Pure beauty and joy from Michel Petrucciani – a record that captures the pianist in all his 80s genius – working in a trio with Palle Danielsson on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums, but clearly driving the whole engine with his boundless energy on the keys! The tracks are all quite long, and even familiar themes are nicely transformed – although our favorites are the original numbers by Michel, which dominate the record and really seem like the best sort of showcase for that special spirit that made him such a standout during his too-short recorded career. Titles include "The Prayer", "Our Tune", "Face's Face", "Regina", and "Night & Day". CD

Pure beauty and joy from Michel Petrucciani – a record that captures the pianist in all his 80s genius – working in a trio with Palle Danielsson on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums, but clearly driving the whole engine with his boundless energy on the keys! The tracks are all quite long, and even familiar themes are nicely transformed – although our favorites are the original numbers by Michel, which dominate the record and really seem like the best sort of showcase for that special spirit that made him such a standout during his too-short recorded career. Titles include "The Prayer", "Our Tune", "Face's Face", "Regina", and "Night & Day". LP, Vinyl record album

Saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Tim Daisy are no musical strangers to each other, having played together often on many different recordings – yet here, the duo seem almost reborn – opening up all sorts of amazing sounds in the company of violinist Mark Feldman – whose sense of sound throughout is really incredible! This isn't jazz violin, ala Jean-Luc Ponty or Stephane Grappelli – as Feldman uses his instrument more as a sonic engine, to generate unusual sounds of all different types – which are then amplified and echoed by Daisy and Rempis on their instruments, which includes added percussion from Tim, and a mixture of alto, tenor, and baritone from Dave! The set features two long, mindblowing improvisations, both recorded at Elastic Arts – "Ostro" and "Bora". CD

A record that really comes on with a hell of a lot of power – tight, fast drums from Gerald Cleaver – matched with fuzzy, chromatic work on guitar from Brandon Seabrook – all punctuated with work from Cooper Moore on the diddley bow! The drums and guitar are the driving engine of the record, though – and really come on with a full, pulsating sort of vibe – very kinetic in energy, and served up on a range of shorter tracks that maintain a stronger fire than if the trio were working in longer improvisations. Titles include "Dank Esseintes", "Along Comes Diddley", "Absurdities IN Bondage", "Essential Exultations", "Flexing Fetid & Fecund", and "Dark Bogs". CD

A double length set – with the complete ABC/Probe recordings of Soft Machine! The first disc features the amazing debut of Soft Machine! It's hard to find a more seminal moment of jazz rock from the British scene – and there's certainly few albums from its generation that stand up as well over the years as this one! The trio of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Michael Ratledge carve out the future of progressive playing on this excellent set of shorter tunes that still offer up all the hard jamming of later years. Beat group morphs into prog jazz before your very eyes – on tracks like "Hope For Happiness", "Why Am I So Short", "Save Yourself", "Priscilla", "So Boot If At All", "A Certain Kind", "Lullabye Letter", and "Why Are We Sleeping?". Soft Machine Two is sublime early work from Robert Wyatt and crew – a psychedelic accented jazz rock classic that never gets old – and a visionary set that inspired a generation! The heavily fuzzy guitar sound is transcendent on Volume Two – with sudden jazzy changes, augmented by horns, and all done with a sly sense of humour for which the group doesn't get enough credit. The set's broken up into two different "concept" halves – and side one is "Rivmic Melodies" – and includes "Pataphysical Introduction", "A Concise British Alphabet", "Dada Was Here", and "Out Of Tunes". Side two is "Esther's Nose Job" – with the parts "Pig", "Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging", "Orange Skin Food", and "A Door Opens & Closes". Wyatt's on vocals and drums; Hugh Hopper is on bass, guitar, and alto; and Mike Ratledge plays some great Lowry and Hammond organ, plus a bit of harpsichord and flute! CD

The seventh album from prolific modern funky soul gurus The Baker Brothers – a tight, thunderous mix of vocals and instrumentals that range from rawly raucous numbers to sly little groovers! The group really is a well oiled engine at this point – after a good decade or so of activity. Time To Testify is up there with their best material – a record with a nice, live feel and excellent instrumentation for the group! Chris Pedley on bass and piano, Paul Young on sax and flute, Geoff Lai on guitar and lead vox, Rich Baker on drums & percussion, Ted Carrasco on drums and percussion, and Sott Baylis on trumpet, Rhodes, Hammond, clavinet and Moog. Includes "Make Your Move", "Painting Pictures", "Once I Had A Friend", "Patience", "Feeding Freddie", "Pieces Of The Puzzle", "Hang Loose", "The Bottom Rung", "The Young Patter", "Snap Back", "Head South", "Genki Strut" and more. 16 tracks on the CD version. CD

A jazz set – based around Jack Webb's character in the movie of the same name – and one that features a group of players that include George Van Eps on guitar, Matty Matlock on clarinet, Eddie Miller on tenor, and Nick Fatool on drums. The tunes are all named after a different shade of either blue or red – and have a dreamy, late nite take on trad jazz that's surprisingly nice. Titles include "Lobster", "Fire Engine", "Peacock", "Turquoise", "Periwinkle", "Midnight", and "Flame". LP, Vinyl record album

The title track's a mighty big hit for The Marketts – and it's also a great way to describe the group's talent for pushing past their boundaries at the time! The sound is surf instrumental at the core – but really stretches out to space themes, soundtrack areas, and more – thanks to inventive arrangements from Ray Pohlman, who pushes these guys farther than the usual groups of the time – while still keeping that guitar instrumental style that made them so great overall! There's a lot more variety to the tunes than you'd hear on a Ventures album, for example – and beautiful Bones Howe engineering makes sure that the sound is top-shelf throughout! Titles include the group's big hit reading of "Out Of Limits", plus "Bell Star", "Saturn", "Re-Entry", "Other Limits", "Twilight City", and "Limits Beyond". CD

"I need a fix – and a kiiiiiiiiiissssssss!" What can we say? Johnny Thunders, David Johansen and the boys reinvented the wheel with the of wildly hedonist glam skronk spun on this still incredible debut record. Both records they made for Mercury are incredible, but this is the bonafide masterpiece. It's a classic purely on a primal rock 'n' roll level, but it's also one of rock's greatest examples of style equaling substance! The Dolls brought glammer to the gutter and vice versa, and this is no doubt their greatest moment! Includes "Personality Crisis", "Looking For A Kiss", "Trash", "Frankenstein", "Pills", "Bad Girl", "Private World" and "Jet Boy". Produced by Todd Rundgren and engineered by Jack Douglas – the former a legend in his own right, the latter whose name appears on so many great records that range from other proto-punk and punk-era classics (Patti Smith Group, The Runaways) to the trashier side of the mainstream (prime early Cheap Trick, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper). LP, Vinyl record album

A great record – and the kind of lost soul that has group collectors digging through the used bins year after year! Smoke hailed from Kansas City, and they were sweet harmony group in the mode of many of their east coast contemporaries. The record was recorded in 1976, but has a sound that's more 1972 or 1973 – with some uptempo righteous cuts, and some heavenly floating ballads that really hit the best sort of group soul harmony heaven! The record appears to have been recorded in Chicago – as the engineer is Paul Serrano, and the arrangements were handled by Benjamin Wright. Tracks include "I Can Feel Your Love (Comin' Down On Me)", "Cream Of The Crop", "I'm So Lonely", "Have I Really Lost You", and "Don't Take Your Love". A smooth groove classic through and through! LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a really beautiful sound – not just from the core work of the piano trio, but also from the guy who recorded the whole thing too – the legendary engineer for the Three Blind Mice label in Japan, Yoshihiko Kaminari! It's not often that the engineer gets billed on the back cover alongside the members of a jazz combo – but that credit is very well due here, as the album does a beautiful job of capturing all the subtle brilliance of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on the keys of the piano – stepping gently next to the bass of Hiroshi Kagawa and drums of Toshio Ohsumi – both very subtle players who let the pianist dominate the proceedings! The set features a fair bit of Erroll Garner numbers, which creates a nicely different setting for Yamamoto – and his pairing here with Kaminari reunites the same forces that gave the world Tsuyoshi's classic TBM albums Midnight Sugar and Misty. Titles include "Dreamy", "Mood Island", "Solitaire", "Night Wind", "Paris Bounce", "Garner Talk", "Sweet For K", and "When Paris Cries". CD

One of the most unique packages we've ever seen from the mighty Mosaic Records – not a set that focuses on a specific artist or record label – but instead a treasure trove of freshly-unearthed material from the archives of Bill Savory – a legendary sound engineer whose work for Columbia Records helped transform our understanding of classic jazz! The sides here aren't Bill's work for that label – but instead feature recordings he made of rare broadcast performances – material that's surprisingly well-recorded, given Savory's skills with the technology of the times – which means that these tracks are way more than the kind of fuzzy radio tapes that used to show up on older jazz bootleg albums. Mosaic did a great job of restoring these materials, and presenting them with wonderful clarity – in a succession of late 30s performances that feature rare work by Count Basie, Albert Ammons, Mildred Bailey, Teddy Wilson, Glenn Miller, John Kirby, Carl Cress, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Fats Waller, Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, Jack Teagarden, and other giants of the swing generation. There's 108 tracks in all – including a few surprisingly long performances – and the whole thing comes with the usual hefty Mosaic Records package of notes and photos! CD

The group's third album, delivered after a long delay – with titles that include "Amanda", "A New World", "To Be A Man", "Still In Love", "The Launch", "Cool The Engines", "My Destination", and "We're Ready". CD

The cover's a bit stark, but the music is warm and wonderful – a collection of cuts by an obscure Venezuelan group of the 60s – a Latin combo who were originally formed by a bunch of engineering students – hence the name of the group! The music's not the stuff of slide rules and pocket protectors, though – as these guys clearly know how to let their hair down once their books are closed – drawing the best influences from the hippest New York groups of the moment, and presenting them with a lean style and that slightly offbeat approach that can make Venezuelan work of the period such a refreshing change from better-known Latin work on labels like Tico, Fania, or Alegre! There's clearly a no rules approach going on here, as the guys throw in lots of creative touches of their own – on titles that include "Mambo Silbado", "Aefo", "La Bola", "Eso", "Mambo Rock", "Mambo Sancocho", "Extasis", "Dame Boogaloo", and "El Alacran". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare early songs from Nick Drake – home recordings done before his three classic albums on Island Records, somewhat restored and remastered by his original sound engineer! The quality here is a fair bit better than most of the bootlegs from these years, and the overstuffed package features a whopping 28 tracks in all – beginning with more straightly-folksy tunes, and moving into territory that shows the more sophisticated styles that Drake would explore on his albums for Island. A few tracks feature vocals by his mother, Molly Drake, but the bulk of the work is by Nick – and overall, there's a surprisingly great quality to most of the tunes – the nascent genius that would emerge fully formed on Five Leaves Left. Titles include "Blossom", "Been Smoking Too Long", "Tomorrow Is A Long Time", "Here Come The Blues", "If You Leave Me", "Blues Run The Game", "My Baby So Sweet", "Kimbie", "Bird Flew By", "Rain", "Strange Meeting II", "Come In To The Garden", "Poor Mum", "Time Piece", and "Strolling Down The Highway". CD

The one that catapulted PJ Harvey from a critical favorite to something of a popular favorite on both the US and UK – and her most remarkable creative stride to date! At the time, it felt like this was the one where Polly Harvey made a conscious choice to go "big" with sound, working with producer Flood after that famously stripped down Rid Of Me with Steve Albini engineering, but in hindsight it's amazing how the bigger sound, unafraid of electronics and all around grander atmosphere never even comes close to hiding the by turns intimate and mysterious lyricism – and it might be the best showcase for Polly's voice on record – projecting varying, unpredictable mood from track to track. Includes "To Bring You My Love", "Meet Ze Monsta", "Down By The Water", "Send His Love To Me", "The Dancer" and more. CD

A classic! Where would electronic pop be without Gary Numan's "Cars"? Alongside Kraftwerk's classic 80s albums and Yellow Magic Orchestra's first LP, this album by Gary Numan ranks as one of the most essential synth driven LPs on a creative level – and it rightly brought the sound to the masses at the time, too – thanks to a brilliant pop sensibility, awash with robotic tones that will forever vindicate 80s new wave. Includes "Airlane", "Metal", "Complex", "Films", "ME", "Tracks", "Observer", "Conversation", "Cars" and "Engineers". LP, Vinyl record album

The fourth in the MPS reissue series of long unreleased late 60s recordings from the home of producer/engineer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer finds Oscar Peterson in a glorious solo piano mode! All of the recordings in the series were from very relaxed, loose sessions that were some of Peterson's favorite of the time – and they're done in a mode that has Oscar playing loosely and soulfully throughout. Titles include "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Perdido", "Body And Soul", "Bye, Bye Blackbird", "Lulu's Back In Town", Little Girl Blue", "Who Can I Turn To", "Take The 'A' Train" and more. CD

Great late 60s work from Oscar Peterson – a player who's definitely Travelin On here, thanks to a great approach to production, and a trio that features Sam Jones on bass and Bob Durham on drums! These MPS sessions are essentially identifiable for the relaxed, soulful warmth that came so naturally from the atmosphere of the home of producer/engineer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer – who manned the booth as well as provided the venue. Tracks include "Travelin' On", "Emily", "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)", "Sax No End" and "When Lights Are Low". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic return to form for the great Tom T Hall – and a record that hints a bit at the bluegrass direction his later small label records would take! Earl Scruggs and his sons provide great musical backing, while Tom sings lead in that fantastic style of his – sometimes telling his own stories, sometimes singing the words of others – all in a lean, respectful, acoustic-driven setting that's maybe even better than most of Hall's own records at the time! Titles include "Shackles & Chains", "The Engineers Don't Wave From The Trains Anymore", "Song Of The South", "Don't Give Your Heart To A Rambler", "Dim Lights Thick Smoke", "No Expectations", "There Ain't Country Music On The Jukebox", and "Don't This Road Look Rough & Rocky". LP, Vinyl record album

Peter Tessier turned plenty of knobs to make a record this great – which is maybe no surprise, given that he worked as an engineer in the Canadian branch of RCA Records in the early 70s! Pete definitely makes that legacy work for him – with really wonderful arrangements and sharp production that set a strong fire to illuminate his unique songs! The record's not really psych or prog, and Tessier's more raspy vocal style almost gives it more of the 70s personality of a singer like Lou Reed – while the songs echo singer/songwriter modes, but are executed with a lot more sonic complexity – almost in a way that feels like some of those 80s UK records that were influenced by psych, but come off sounding very different than the originals of the 60s. Titles include "I'll Never Know", "A Little More Rain", "Someday", "And On The Eighth Day", "Bottle Of Time", and "I Still Don't Know". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a really beautiful sound – not just from the core work of the piano trio, but also from the guy who recorded the whole thing too – the legendary engineer for the Three Blind Mice label in Japan, Yoshihiko Kaminari! It's not often that the engineer gets billed on the back cover alongside the members of a jazz combo – but that credit is very well due here, as the album does a beautiful job of capturing all the subtle brilliance of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on the keys of the piano – stepping gently next to the bass of Hiroshi Kagawa and drums of Toshio Ohsumi – both very subtle players who let the pianist dominate the proceedings! The set features a fair bit of Erroll Garner numbers, which creates a nicely different setting for Yamamoto – and his pairing here with Kaminari reunites the same forces that gave the world Tsuyoshi's classic TBM albums Midnight Sugar and Misty. Titles include "Dreamy", "Mood Island", "Solitaire", "Night Wind", "Paris Bounce", "Garner Talk", "Sweet For K", and "When Paris Cries". CD

The fourth in the MPS reissue series of long unreleased late 60s recordings from the home of producer/engineer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer finds Oscar Peterson in a glorious solo piano mode! All of the recordings in the series were from very relaxed, loose sessions that were some of Peterson's favorite of the time – and they're done in a mode that has Oscar playing loosely and soulfully throughout. Titles include "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Perdido", "Body And Soul", "Bye, Bye Blackbird", "Lulu's Back In Town", "Little Girl Blue", "Who Can I Turn To", "Take The 'A' Train" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The fourth in the MPS reissue series of long unreleased late 60s recordings from the home of producer/engineer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer finds Oscar Peterson in a glorious solo piano mode! All of the recordings in the series were from very relaxed, loose sessions that were some of Peterson's favorite of the time – and they're done in a mode that has Oscar playing loosely and soulfully throughout. Titles include "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Perdido", "Body And Soul", "Bye, Bye Blackbird", "Lulu's Back In Town", Little Girl Blue", "Who Can I Turn To", "Take The 'A' Train" and more. CD

A work of "culinary engineering" – with William Roper on tuba, accompanied by guest chef Hugh Livingston. CD

A great one from X-Ray Spex – one of the strongest of the first generation punks of the 70s – a group fronted by the amazing Poly Styrene, and blessed with some incredibly catchy tunes! There's a poppy playfulness to most of these tracks, underneath the fierce, full-on energy of the group – a rhythmic approach to punk rock that's almost a precursor to the Bow Wow Wow sound, but more decidedly punk at its heart. Tracks include "Oh Bondage Up Yours", "I Am A Cliche", "Highly Inflammable", "Let's Submerge", "I Am A Poseur", "Genetic Engineering", "Warrior In Woolworths", "Obsessed With You", "Artificial", and "The Day The World Turned Dayglo". LP, Vinyl record album