The debut EP from Human Switchboard – and a legendary slice of late 70s punk from Cleveland! Includes "Fly-In", "Distemper", "Shake It Boys" and "San Francisco Nights" in comes in zine-like booklet with old show flyers, club listings an more! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Rare recordings of delta blues legend Mississippi John Hurt – captured solo and beautifully well on 3 dates in late 1964, recorded by Gene Rosenthal – with Hurt's distinctive way of a somehow gentle melodic acoustic blues guitar sound, coming from hard-strummed and plucked strings as unvarnished and amazing as can be – and a way with vocals that's just as unique and wonderful! It's got the intimacy of the best field recordings, but the sound quality and John's voice and guitar are in such fine form here, it feels "big" despite being as raw and real as can be. Includes "Slidin' Delta", "Louis Collins", "Staggerlee", "Monday Mornin' Blues", "Comin' Home", "Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor", "You Can't Come In", "Joe Turner", "Lonesome Am I", "Trouble Blues", "Nobody's Dirty Business", "Lovin' Spoonful", "Worried Blues" and "Avalon Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

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Wicked early work from Junior Kimbrough – sides that are quite different than some of his better-known recordings over the years! The material was cut in Memphis in 1966 by producer Quinton Claunch – and it's got a spare, rootsy quality that's totally great – slow moving drums underneath some echoey guitar – and great flat-nosed vocals from Junior that really send the tunes home – almost with a quality that makes you feel like he's humming the lyrics instead of singing them! Titles include two versions of "Feels So Good", plus "Meet Me In The City", "Lonesome In My Home", "Done Got Old", and "Feels So Bad". CD

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A strong collection of (mostly) early-to-mid 90s recordings by Mississippi blues legend Junior Kimbrough – compiling his Fat Possum recordings and as a set that really is essential! It includes recordings captured Junior's Juke Joint in Chulahoma, MS, home recordings and more – raw and right in Junior's unflinching element. Includes the great opener "Release Me" with Charlie Feathers – recorded in 1969 – and the subsequent 90s material sounds right at home with it . . .pretty amazing! Other tracks include "All Night Long", "Meet Me In The City", "Old Black Mattie", "I'm Leaving You Baby", "Keep On Braggin'", "Tramp", "Sad Days Lonely Nights", "Most Things Haven't Worked Out", the bone-chilling title track and more. CD

Fantastic recordings of the legendary Furry Lewis – a musician who may be pictured in a bathrobe on the front cover, but who comes across with all the sharp edges and bold tones of his classic work! The material is part of that legendary George Mitchell series of blues recordings, and may well be one of the best – as Mitchell captures both Lewis' guitar and vocals with incredible clarity – especially the instrument, which yields the kind of complex passages and subtle tones that would have been a lot harder to hear in a 78rpm environment. Furry's vocals are wonderful, too – with a stretching depth that evokes gospel inspiration, but served up with very secular subject matter – on titles that include "Why Don't You Come Home Blues", "Good Morning Judge", "Blues Around My Bed", "Furry Lewis' Careless Love", and "Old Hobo". LP, Vinyl record album

It's Dance Time, Memphis style – thanks to a hip album of instrumentals from the great Willie Mitchell! This one's actually a bit rougher around the edges than some of Willie's other work, with strong guitar and groovy organ, very much in a Booker T & The MGs mode! The tracks groove along with a sound that's more Stax than Hi – which is ok by us, as the feel is nicely raw and raunchy! Titles include "Morning After", "Buster Browne", "Poinciana", "Twine Time", "Apple Jack", and "Wiggle Rock", "Fever", "Woodchopper's Bal" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Raw Memphis style soul instrumentals from trumpeter/arranger Willie Mitchell and the Hi Records crew – a pretty fascinating chapter in the prime Hi Records story! Ooh Baby, You Turn Me On was also released under the title Soul Serenede at one point, and it's really a showcase for some tight, short instrumental tracks, with a groove that's a lot rawer than the Hi material that Willie would produce later in the 70s. In fact, the album overall is a righteous batch of Memphis funk – with a sound that would make Stax pretty darn proud! Titles include "Ooh Baby, You Turn Me On", "Soul Finger", "Slippin & Sliddin", "Willie's Mood", "Sunny", "Pearl Time", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Pearl Time", "Toddlin" and more. CD

A killer from Willie Mitchell – harder, funkier, and a lot more soulful than most of his other records from the 60s! The groove here is sock-soul, and most cuts have a hard and tight funky 45 approach. Willie was really cut loose on this one – freed from his usual standard of recording hits and pop songs, he wrote all the songs on the set – and they're heavy Memphis instrumentals with a sound that's much more like 60s Bar Kays work on Stax! There's a great sax player on the session, too – not named in the notes, unfortunately, but with a sound that really wails on the best tracks. Titles include "Fat Cat", "Pep Talk", "That Driving Beat", "The Champion (parts 1 & 2)", "Nick O Demus", "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright", and "Stone Face". LP, Vinyl record album

A really well-selected batch of tracks from the Hi Records years of the legendary Ann Peebles – one of the deepest female soul singers of the 70s! Ann was the female equivalent of Al Green for the label – their female powerhouse singer, always at the top of their roster – and always getting top-shelf help from superproducer Willie Mitchell – who makes these sides as smooth and seductive as he did for Al Green's great run of records for Hi Records! Peebles hit Hi as an artist who was already very fully-formed – thanks to early years in gospel, and work in the group of Oliver Sain – and right away, her records for the company started burning hard – and didn't stop at all until her move towards retirement at the end of the 70s. Tracks here are most of the best from those years – and include "I Can't Stand The Rain", "Walk Away", "Part Time Love", "Give Me Some Credit", "Do I Need You", "Dr Love Power", "Old Man With Young Ideas", "I Didn't Take Your Man", "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down", "Somebody's On Your Case", "Slipped Tripped & Fell In Love", and "Breaking Up Somebody's Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily our favorite album ever by Ann Peebles – not just for the beathead title track, but also because it seems to be the one record where she brings a bit something extra to the studio! The sound is certainly in the classic Hi Records mode here – thanks to production by Willie Mitchell – but there's also a deeper groove overall, a stronger burning bottom, and an all-soul sound to most tracks that goes way beyond simple cliches of southern soul. Ann's vocals are tremendous throughout – sometimes sweet, sometimes mean – and titles include the sublime "I Can't Stand The Rain", plus "Run Run Run", "One Way Street", "You Keep Me Hangin On", and "If We Can't Trust Each Other". CD

A great litle early album from Ann Peebles – rawer than most of her more familiar stuff, with a gutbuckety soul quality that really keeps things fresh! We always love Ann's work, but in these early years she has a deep soul vibe that few other singers can touch – a level that easily rivals Aretha Franklin, but has more real southern roots – and which is handled here by the Hi Records sound. Willie Mitchell produced and arranged (of course!), and the record's got some sweet backing vocals by Rhodes, Chalmers, & Rhodes – very much in a Sweet Inspirations mode, but again maybe a bit deeper too. Tracks include a funky remake of The Isleys' "It's Your Thing", plus "Solid Foundation", "Crazy About You Baby", "Give Me Some Credit", and "Generation Gap Between Us". CD

Ann Peebles sings straight from the heart on this classic early set for Hi Records – a record that's to female vocals what Al Green's work of the time meant to male soul! As with Green's Hi Records of the time, Willie Mitchell is firmly in charge of production and backings – working with that warmly glowing Memphis soul style that carved whole new territory in soul music for the 70s – a maturing and mellowing of earlier southern modes, in a way that helps Peebles hit some fresh and uncliched sounds with her vocals. At a time when so many other singers were trying to copy Aretha, Ann's approach is mighty fresh – as you'll hear on tracks that include "I Take What I Want", "Slipped Tripped & Fell In Love", "What You Laid On Me", "Trouble Heartaches & Sadness", "99 Pounds", "I've Been There Before", and "Somebody's On Your Case". CD

An overlooked gem by the great Charlie Rich – an album recorded for Hi Records in the years before he broke big on Columbia in the late 60s – but at a level that certainly points the way towards his country fame to come! And yet, as with most of the best music by Rich – like his stunning Smash Records sides – there's a quality here that's quite far from both the mainstream, and conventional modes of expression – as Charlie almost seems to be drawing as much on soul music for inspiration as he is the sounds of Nashville – which might almost put this album in the territory of classic country soul material by singers like Ray Charles or Brook Benton. The whole thing's a perfect setting for that unique combination of talents that makes Rich so wonderful – and most tracks are Hank Williams hits, but redone completely. Titles include "I Can't Help It", "My Heart Would Know", "Take These Chains From My Heart", "Your Cheatin Heart", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Cold Cold Heart", and "Nobody's Lonesome For Me". CD

An overlooked gem by the great Charlie Rich – an album recorded for Hi Records in the years before he broke big on Columbia in the late 60s – but at a level that certainly points the way towards his country fame to come! And yet, as with most of the best music by Rich – like his stunning Smash Records sides – there's a quality here that's quite far from both the mainstream, and conventional modes of expression – as Charlie almost seems to be drawing as much on soul music for inspiration as he is the sounds of Nashville – which might almost put this album in the territory of classic country soul material by singers like Ray Charles or Brook Benton. The whole thing's a perfect setting for that unique combination of talents that makes Rich so wonderful – and most tracks are Hank Williams hits, but redone completely. Titles include "I Can't Help It", "My Heart Would Know", "Take These Chains From My Heart", "Your Cheatin Heart", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Cold Cold Heart", and "Nobody's Lonesome For Me". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the best ever records from Neil Haggerty & Jennifer Herrema's Royal Trux – one that was intended to be their third album for Virgin and ended up being a pretty triumphant return to the indie realm! As crazy as the idea of a band whose sound was often so skronky and primitively recorded, there was always an inherent classic rock vibe at their core. Accelerator is the record where they finally paired a fuzzy, greasy, messy sound and style with old school 70s rock swagger in a weirdly perfect blend. Includes "I'm Ready", "Yellow Kid", "Banana Question", "Juicy, Juicy, Juice", "Liar", "New Bones", "Follow The Winner", "Stevie (For Steven S)" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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Townes revisiting his own time-honored tunes from the late 60s onward, often backed by just a second guitar or fiddle, spare settings that maximize the stark power of his songwriting and voice! The voice is really the key here, distinctive in both the songwriting – with some of the most effective story songs about lost souls and wayward love in the modern folk or country canon – and in performance, here sounding as clear and soulful as ever, and in much stronger form than we remembered! Beautiful stuff. Includes "Pancho & Lefty", "If I Needed You", "For The Sake Of The Song", "Our Mother The Mountain", "Dollar Bill Blues", "No Place To Fall", "Lungs", "White Freightliner Blues", "Don't You Take It Too Bad", "Tower Song", "Waitin' Round To Die", "Colorado Girl" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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OV Wright at the end of the 70s – working live in front of a very enthusiastic Japanese crowd, and in a groove that's right up their with his best work from earlier in the decade! In fact, there's a rawness here that you won't always find on Wright's other records – great live backing from a cool combo of American players, really rich in Memphis soul elements – and served up with funky touches that really work wonders with OV's presentation of the music. So instead of being a throw-off record for the overseas market, the set's instead a key piece of Wright's catalog at the time – seminal work that really stands strongly next to his studio classics. Titles include "Precious Precious", "I'd Rather Be Blind Crippled & Crazy", "Love & Happiness", "Eight Men & Four Women", "Into Something", and a great long "Medley" track. LP, Vinyl record album

OV Wright's getting a bit smooth, but still sounding great – working here with really full backings from Willie Mitchell, at a level that's a bit more upbeat than his previous album at Hi Records! There's a bit more of a groove on these tunes, but most are still miles from the dancefloor – still in that time-tested OV Wright style, with echoes of earlier Memphis eras in the background, but a tighter, more mature approach upfront. Given the date of the record, the overall sound is surprising – more mid 70s Hi Records than anything else – but that's also the charm of the set, and proof that Hi could still hold strong when other labels were moving forward, perhaps a bit too quickly. Titles include "Mirror Of My Soul", "I'm Gonna Stay", "It's Cold Without Your Love", "We're Still Together", and "I Found Peace". CD

(Note: This item is not for sale online until noon on Saturday, September 26. It is in limited supply – and by nature of the Record Store Day Drops rules it will be offered for sale first to customers who visit the Dusty Groove retail outlet in Chicago the morning of Saturday, September 26. It will not be pre-sold or reserved in any way. However, after noon on September 26 we will offer up whatever we have left for sale online.) LP, Vinyl record album

Raw and rumbling gospel sounds from the Designer Records vaults – real and resonant southern gospel from Reverend Douglas Bell & Th Stage Cruisers! Heavy vocals & sermonizing with swirling organ and wailing keyboards along with the impassioned vocals. As with the material on the Together compilation, the material is well produced, with bluesy, gritty immediacy. Titles include "Nuclear Blast", "Bitter And The Sweet", "I Got To Make Heaven My Home", "Hard Love Affair", "I Got A Home", "I'll Fight Goliath", "How Many Miles To Heaven", "What You Need From The Lord" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The first album in decades from Memphis soul legend Don Bryant – a singer who hardly even gave us any recordings back when he was in his prime! Don was one of the lesser lights at the famous Hi Records – not as successful as Ann Peebles or Al Green, but steeped in the same wonderful sound as those great artists – and still going wonderfully strong after all these years! In fact, the album almost feels more like some lost Hi tapes from Bryant's glory days than a contemporary set – as his voice is wonderful, the songs are tight, and both the production and instrumentation have just the right sort of classic approach – soulful, but without overstating things in any sort of cloying "resurrection" mode. Instead, Don's just right on top, and right in the pocket – doing his thing wonderfully on titles that include "Don't Give Up On Love", "I Got To Know", "First You Cry", "It Was Jealousy", "Something About You", "Can't Hide The Hurt", "One Ain't Enough", and "A Nickel & A Nail". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic full length debut from Cassowary – aka Miles Shannon, an artist who's equally skilled as a jazz musician and a singer – working here in a really great style that's a strong hybrid of the two sides of his talents! The keyboard lines are wonderful – served up on a variety of instruments, plus piano as well – and maybe often the lead of the track, even when there's a bit of vocals – as the style of singing usually seems to fall in line with the warm glow of the keyboards, instead of the usual mode. Cassowary also plays a bit of tenor – as you might guess from his youthful image on the cover – and the whole thing's got this fantastic vibe that reminds us of some of the hip jazz/soul hybrids that have come from the LA scene in recent years. Titles include "114 Degrees", "Belt Notch", "Price Went Up", "Starlight", "Superhiro", "Roach", and "Cyclical". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most legendary bluesmen of the early 78rpm generation – heard here in a wonderfully-recorded set from 1964! The session came at a time when Skip James was hardly getting any mainstream attention, but had been rediscovered by a younger generation – which led to the fledgling Adelphi Records bringing him into the studio and really letting him do his thing! There's no attempt at commercialism here at all – as the tracks are spare, of varying length, and have James letting that amazing vocal style loose – soaring out with a heavenly sound at some moments, and hewing to the rhythms of his guitar at others – given reverent production treatment by the young John Fahey. Titles include "Broke & Hungry", "Crow Jane", "Cypress Grove Blues", "Black Gal", "Drunken Spree", "Illinois Blues", "Look Down The Road", and "Bad Whiskey". LP, Vinyl record album

The great Syl Johnson – doing his thing for Hi Records on a record that's more shiny diamond than it is rough – his second album for the label and a truly underappreciated gem from the Chi soul great! Diamond In The Rough is a much sweeter set of tunes than Syl's Chicago work on Twinight, with warmer production by southern soul guru Willie Mitchell to keep his sound much more in the Memphis soul camp – but still a nice album of bluesy stoked sweetness, and proof that Syl was one of the better talents on the Hi label. Titles include "Keeping Down Confusion", "Let Yourself Go", "Could I Be Falling In Love", "Stuck In Chicago", and "I Hear The Love Chimes", "Please, Don't Give Up On Me" and "Diamond In The Rough". CD

Ann Peebles sings straight from the heart on this classic early set for Hi Records – a record that's to female vocals what Al Green's work of the time meant to male soul! As with Green's Hi Records of the time, Willie Mitchell is firmly in charge of production and backings – working with that warmly glowing Memphis soul style that carved whole new territory in soul music for the 70s – a maturing and mellowing of earlier southern modes, in a way that helps Peebles hit some fresh and uncliched sounds with her vocals. At a time when so many other singers were trying to copy Aretha, Ann's approach is mighty fresh – as you'll hear on tracks that include "I Take What I Want", "Slipped Tripped & Fell In Love", "What You Laid On Me", "Trouble Heartaches & Sadness", "99 Pounds", "I've Been There Before", and "Somebody's On Your Case". LP, Vinyl record album

A heck of a discovery – early recordings Townes Van Zandt cut in mid 60s Nashville – a couple of years before his official solo debut, and a soul shakingly beautiful mix of his country folk blues storytelling and some more rollicking numbers that work exceptionally well! One of the things that's most striking about it is how wise and knowing his songs and his voice are this early in his game, with the more intimate voice and guitar numbers sounding great. The few songs with busier instumentation work, too, and that's even more surprising give the Townes loner folk ouvre. We didn't think there could be much Townes left unreleased, especially of this quality! Titles include "Black Widow Blues", "Maryetta's Song", "Hunger Child Blues", "Black Jack Mama", "When Your Dream Never Dies", "Big Country Blues", "Gypsy Friday", "Colorado Blues", "Black Crow Blues" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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A straight-up incredible batch of recordings by the Austin singer-songwriter ghost of a legend that is Blaze Foley – a self-destructive character better known to the stars he influenced than he is to the masses (he is the "Drunken Angel" who Lucinda Williams wrote and sang about) – material from the mid-to-late 70s when he was billed as Deputy Dawg and put together here for one of the best compilations on Fat Possum in years! What makes this set so wonderful is the cohesive flow of it. It's solo folk country material recorded in a trio of intimate sessions from February of '76, November of that same year, and September of '78. Plaintive in presentation, with a passion that both soars to the heavens and plunges the depths. Bruised and totally beautiful! Titles include "You'll Get Yours Aplenty", "I Should Have Been Home", "Let Me Ride In Your Big Cadillac", "Big Chief Hightower", "Blaze Foley's 113th Wet Dream", "Rudee Down In New Orleans", "New Wave Blues", "Fat Boy", "Cosmic Doo Doo", "Cold, Cold World", "Crawl Back To You" and more. 20 in all. LP, Vinyl record album

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What can we say? Most of the biggest hits, and many of the very best tracks cut in the prime of Al Green's career – which is to say some of the very best Memphis soul ever recorded! 10 essential tracks in all, and it's just one of these Greatest Hits packages of pure, inarguable perfection – with "Call Me", "Let's Stay Together", "Tired Of Being Alone", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Here I Am (Come & Take Me)", "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart", "I Can't Get Next To You", "You Ought To Be With Me", "Look What You Done For Me" and "Let's Get Married". LP, Vinyl record album

Al takes over the whole deal with this one – as the record features him writing, producing, arranging, and even playing lead guitar – stepping out from under the protective wing of Willie Mitchell, and doing a surprisingly great job overall! Al does get a bit of help in the studio – from Fred Jordan and Reuben Fairfax, whose names are hidden in smaller type, under the message on the back that says that the record is "something new" – but as we've come to learn from all the other Al Green records we've loved over the years, the man himself is more than enough to make the record wonderful – with vocals that are unbeatable at this point in his career! Titles include "All N All", "Belle", "Loving You", "Georgia Boy", "Feels Like Summer" and "Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

Warm wonderfulness from the great Al Green – a record that may have a pale-looking cover, but a set that's one of Green's most deeply soulful albums ever! There's a grace and a glow to the set right from the very first note – that really unique presentation and performance that makes these early 70s Green albums such enduring treasures – and so unlike anything else that's ever come since, no matter how many folks were influenced by Al's sound! The production is perfect – with Al helping Willie Mitchell at the helm, as they balance together the richness of the instrumentation with core elements in the rhythms – on titles that include Al's stone classic "Love & Happiness", plus "I'm Still In Love With You", "I'm Glad You're Mine", "What A Wonderful Thing Love Is", "Look What You Done For Me", and his great remake of Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times" – a country/soul classic if there ever was one! LP, Vinyl record album

A damn great bit of work from the legendary Al Green – maybe one of his best records ever – and in fact, maybe one of greatest soul albums of all time! The set's got a style that's really genre-defining – not the previous southern soul of a few years before, but also not the modes that were happening up north either. Instead, Al lays things out with this stunningly mature style – sexy, but never overdone – confident, but never in a swaggering way – with a really special flow that comes from the great Willie Mitchell's talents in the studio, but an edge that's Green at his secular best. The album's got a lasting appeal that's made it a favorite for generations – both a key introduction to soul, but also a treasured favorite for longtime collectors – and never every track's a gem – from the classic "Let's Stay Together", through a set list that includes "I've Never Found A Girl", "La La For You", "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart", "So You're Leaving", and "What Is This Feeling". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to go wrong with Al Green at this point – 1973, when the mighty one was at the height of his secular soul powers – and when the sweetly compressed production style of Willie Mitchell just couldn't miss! There's a homey, earthy feel to the record that's really great – a sound that kicks back and lets the soul flow magically – never forcing things at all, nor taking them into the sort of easy hit territory that would have been a temptation at this point. And if anything, the album's a wonderful exercise in understatement – the kind of gently flowing soul that Green virtually invented at the time, and which few other singers could hope to match! Titles include the excellent "Let's Get Married", plus "Livin For You", "Free At Last", "Home Again", "So Good To Be Here", and "Beware" – all original tracks written by Green! CD

Jessie Mae Hemphill might look like an 80s blues artist on the cover, but the record's got a much more vintage vibe – as the set features field recordings done on New Years Eve in 1989, with Jessie Mae singing in a style that seems geared to ring in the year with the ghosts of the past! The music has this really dark, moody vibe – guitar progressions that are cyclical and downturning – almost the sort of energy that Nick Cave was trying to put in his music at the time, but could never do this well – especially when topped with the raw, raspy vocals of Hemphill. Titles include "Holy Ghost", "DC9", "Run Get My Shotgun", "Married Man Blues", "Train Train", and "Nothing That You Say". LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked early work from Junior Kimbrough – sides that are quite different than some of his better-known recordings over the years! The material was cut in Memphis in 1966 by producer Quinton Claunch – and it's got a spare, rootsy quality that's totally great – slow moving drums underneath some echoey guitar – and great flat-nosed vocals from Junior that really send the tunes home – almost with a quality that makes you feel like he's humming the lyrics instead of singing them! Titles include two versions of "Feels So Good", plus "Meet Me In The City", "Lonesome In My Home", "Done Got Old", and "Feels So Bad". Very cool 10" LP package too! LP, Vinyl record album

Raw, intimate Junior Kimbrough recordings, mostly from the early 90s, a number of which were recorded at home – and for the all hiss and murk of the recording quality, the intimacy and realness of the voice, guitar and the man's presence alone make up for it! Spare, lonely blues from Junior that's as quite raw, but endearingly so, and there's some incredible stuff here. The opening title tune has Junior sounding pretty vulnerable and tender hearting, which is pretty amazing – and other numbers include "Done Got Old", "Baby Please Don't Leave Me", "Lonesome Road", "Junior's Place" and a great trio of recordings from the 1993 Sunflower Blues Festival in Clarksdale, MS: "I Feel Alright", "All Night Long" and "Nobody But You". LP, Vinyl record album

A strong collection of (mostly) early-to-mid 90s recordings by Mississippi blues legend Junior Kimbrough – compiling his Fat Possum recordings and as a set that really is essential! It includes recordings captured Junior's Juke Joint in Chulahoma, MS, home recordings and more – raw and right in Junior's unflinching element. Includes the great opener "Release Me" with Charlie Feathers – recorded in 1969 – and the subsequent 90s material sounds right at home with it . . .pretty amazing! Other tracks include "All Night Long", "Meet Me In The City", "Old Black Mattie", "I'm Leaving You Baby", "Keep On Braggin'", "Tramp", "Sad Days Lonely Nights", "Most Things Haven't Worked Out", the bone-chilling title track and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic recordings of the legendary Furry Lewis – a musician who may be pictured in a bathrobe on the front cover, but who comes across with all the sharp edges and bold tones of his classic work! The material is part of that legendary George Mitchell series of blues recordings, and may well be one of the best – as Mitchell captures both Lewis' guitar and vocals with incredible clarity – especially the instrument, which yields the kind of complex passages and subtle tones that would have been a lot harder to hear in a 78rpm environment. Furry's vocals are wonderful, too – with a stretching depth that evokes gospel inspiration, but served up with very secular subject matter – on titles that include "Why Don't You Come Home Blues", "Good Morning Judge", "Blues Around My Bed", "Furry Lewis' Careless Love", and "Old Hobo". CD

It's Dance Time, Memphis style – thanks to a hip album of instrumentals from the great Willie Mitchell! This one's actually a bit rougher around the edges than some of Willie's other work, with strong guitar and groovy organ, very much in a Booker T & The MGs mode! The tracks groove along with a sound that's more Stax than Hi – which is ok by us, as the feel is nicely raw and raunchy! Titles include "Morning After", "Buster Browne", "Poinciana", "Twine Time", "Apple Jack", and "Wiggle Rock", "Fever", "Woodchopper's Bal" and more. CD

A solo session – just Asie Payton on vocals and guitar. CD

Features Asia Payton on vocals and guitar and Sam Carr on drums. CD

Not really famous, but gritty & grooving bluesy gospel soul from Famous L Renfroe – and artist who might even be more mysterious to us after hearing the record! The Flying Sweet Angel Of Joy is kind of a dreamlike mix of impassioned vocals, electric guitar and bass, with some drums. There's often chorus backing vocals behind the spirited, but easygoing lead vocals, and the sound often has a gritty soul blues vibe underneath the emotive, spiritual lead vocals. Titles include "Children", "Believe", "Feed", "Reaching", It's So", "Why Not I", "And Man", "His Love", "Circle", "War" and "Tell". CD

A pretty much flawless collection of tunes from Townes Van Zandt's most loved album from the late 60s to late 70s – a different tracklist from earlier Best Ofs, and a set that really does serve up a treasure trove of achingly beautiful songs! Includes some of the best material from Our Mother The Mountain, his self-titled LP, High, Low And In Between, Delta Mama Blues, Flyin' Shoes, Delta Momma Blues, the earlier records in that run long beloved, the later just as great if not oft-mentioned or the songs as oft-covered, with 16 great songs on 2LPs: "For The Sake Of The Song", "Pancho & Lefty", "To Live Is To Fly", "I'll Be Here In The Morning", "St John The Gambler", "Black Widow Blues", "Tower Song", "Tecumseh Valley", "Lungs", "Rex's Blues" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The great debut of Townes Van Zandt! On the level of pure songwriting, it's masterful – Townes was pretty much in peak form on that front even on the debut! The record is at it's best when it's at it's most intimate – simply letting his voice and acoustic guitar carry everything. There's some fairly adventurous production by Jack Clement & Jim Malloy, though – a bit out of character for Townes at his slightly later, more stripped down and iconic – but that's actually something we appreciate a lot more than we used to. Like the big budget studio recordings of Van Zandt's songs as covered by others, it goes to show just how sturdy and adaptable his songs are in different settings. Classic! Includes "For The Sake Of The Song", "Tecumseh Valley", "Many A Fine Lady", "Quick Silver Dadreams Of Maria", "I'll Be There In The Morning", "Sad Cinderella", "All Your Young Servants", "Sixteen Summers, Fifteen Falls" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic love letter to the great Townes Van Zandt – a set that features unreleased material from his genius stretch in the early 70s! The songs here include two new songs, variations on five others by Townes, and some surprising remakes – all done in a very stripped-down mode, with a vibe that's in keeping with his first few classic albums. And despite the fact that these are lost recordings, the sound quality is excellent – beautifully resonant presentation of the amazing vocals and subtle guitar – on tracks that include "Rex's Blues", "All I Need", "The Hills Of Roane County", "Sky Blue", "Blue Ridge Mountains (smoky version)", "Pancho & Lefty", "Silver Ship Of Andilar", "Last Thing On My Mind", and "Dream Spider". LP, Vinyl record album

A real lost treasure on Hi Records – one of the few albums ever cut by Don Bryant, a singer whose talents seemed to be eclipsed by the rising stars of Al Green and Ann Peebles – but who was every bit as great! Bryant's got a sound here that's still firmly in the Hi style forged by Willie Mitchell – who produces this set – but there's also some nicely rougher edges too, a sound that's almost more Stax than Hi – and which certainly features a bit of a nod to Wilson Pickett down in Muscle Shoals – not exactly funk, but with some nice grit in the grooves! The whole thing's great – and titles include "Try Me", "Cry Baby", "Funky Broadway", "Soul Man", "Land Of 1000 Dances", "She's Looking Good", and "Slip Away". LP, Vinyl record album

Astoundingly strong early recordings by Mississippi blues hero RL Burnside – with violence-tinged songs performed with a clearer, though no less tough voice than we heard on the songs that made him a bit more famous in 1990s! Includes RL's takes on traditionals played on acoustic guitar and accompanied by little more than foot stomps and handclaps! Really vital stuff, whether you're hearing RL Burnside for the first time, and finding this after more famous later recordings. Includes "Just Like A Bird Without A Feather", "Goin' Down South", "Come On In", "Rollin' And Tumblin'", "Jumper On The Line", "Hobo Blues", "Sat Down On My Bnd And Cried" and more, LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic full length debut from Cassowary – aka Miles Shannon, an artist who's equally skilled as a jazz musician and a singer – working here in a really great style that's a strong hybrid of the two sides of his talents! The keyboard lines are wonderful – served up on a variety of instruments, plus piano as well – and maybe often the lead of the track, even when there's a bit of vocals – as the style of singing usually seems to fall in line with the warm glow of the keyboards, instead of the usual mode. Cassowary also plays a bit of tenor – as you might guess from his youthful image on the cover – and the whole thing's got this fantastic vibe that reminds us of some of the hip jazz/soul hybrids that have come from the LA scene in recent years. Titles include "114 Degrees", "Belt Notch", "Price Went Up", "Starlight", "Superhiro", "Roach", and "Cyclical". CD

The only full album from Human Switchboard – one of the leading lights of the Cleveland scene during that city's heady late 70s years – and a group whose mix of quirk and tunefulness would have made them huge, had they been working on the coasts! There's a great sound going on here – the tightness of the power pop generation, which you might guess from the trio lineup – mixed with some of the weirder strains that were coming out of the Midwest underground – sometimes coming through in the Farfisa organ work of Myrna Marcarian, sometimes in the Feelies-like guitar jams of Robert Pfeifer, which are only urged on more by the complex mix of drums and percussion by Ron Metz! Song structures really open up, too – the record revels in the unexpected – and although some folks might make comparisons between the group and The Velvet Underground, they're much more their own sort of thing – with the individuality and earnestness of the early CBGB scene at its best. Titles include "Refrigerator Door", "In This Town", "Who's Landing In My Hangar", "Say No To Saturday's Girl", "Don't Follow Me Home", "Book On Looks", "Where The Light Breaks", and "I Can Walk Alone". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily our favorite album ever by Ann Peebles – not just for the beathead title track, but also because it seems to be the one record where she brings a bit something extra to the studio! The sound is certainly in the classic Hi Records mode here – thanks to production by Willie Mitchell – but there's also a deeper groove overall, a stronger burning bottom, and an all-soul sound to most tracks that goes way beyond simple cliches of southern soul. Ann's vocals are tremendous throughout – sometimes sweet, sometimes mean – and titles include the sublime "I Can't Stand The Rain", plus "Run Run Run", "One Way Street", "You Keep Me Hangin On", and "If We Can't Trust Each Other". LP, Vinyl record album

Not really famous, but gritty & grooving bluesy gospel soul from Famous L Renfroe – and artist who might even be more mysterious to us after hearing the record! The Flying Sweet Angel Of Joy is kind of a dreamlike mix of impassioned vocals, electric guitar and bass, with some drums. There's often chorus backing vocals behind the spirited, but easygoing lead vocals, and the sound often has a gritty soul blues vibe underneath the emotive, spiritual lead vocals. Titles include "Children", "Believe", "Feed", "Reaching", It's So", "Why Not I", "And Man", "His Love", "Circle", "War" and "Tell". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest records to ever come out of the west coast punk scene at the end of the 70s and start of the 80s – incredibly well-penned and well-played – at a level that instantly leaves behind so many of its contemporaries! The themes of the tunes are fantastic – sung by Exene Cervenka and John Doe – as little tales of lust, greed, compromise, and decay – all set to the fantastic drums of DJ Bonebrake and the searing guitar of the great Billy Zoom! The quartet are amazing together – never missing a beat as they rip through classics that include "Your Phone's Off The Hook But You're Not", "Johnny Hit & Run Pauline", "Soul Kitchen", "Nausea", "Los Angeles", and "Sex & Dying In High Society". LP, Vinyl record album

The last true masterpiece by the greatest rock band to ever come out of the late 70s and early 80s L.A. scene. More Fun In The New World serves in a lot of ways as X's upright middle finger to the early years of the Reagan era, with the anthemic opener "The New World", and the ballad "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", perfectly encapsulating the fear and loathing brought about by the ridiculous politics that infected the entire decade. The album is very much a sequel to the amazing Under The Big Black Sun, full of razor pop anthems, Billy Zoom's punkabilly guitar acrobatics, and amazing depth thanks to John and Exene's sensitive and perceptive song writing. Awesome! Other tracks include "True Love", "We're Having Much More Fun", "Poor Girl", "Make The Music Go Bang", "Devil Doll", "Painting The Town Blue", "Hot House", "Drunk In My Past", "I See Red", and "True Love Part 2". LP, Vinyl record album

Soul awakening gospel that's stripped down souful and with profoundly soaring spirit – beautiful stuff recorded and issued by Waymon Jones, proprietor of Savannah, GA's Gusman Record Shop and issued as 45s & LPs on the Pitch and Gusman labels! This as exciting and vibrant a collection of rural southern gospel soul as we could have hoped for, with a couple early 60s recordings and a wealth of recordings through the 70s, by the Golden Stars Of Greenwood, SC, Southern Six of Springfield, SC, the Travelingaires, The True-Tone Singers, Mighty Revelaires, Sensational White Family Singers and more. The sprawling 3CD is organized by Pitch 45s, Gusman 45s and LP tracks from both imprints. 71 tracks on 3CDs! Includes "Jesus' Blood" by Golden Stars, "Fight On" by The True-Tone Singers, "Jesus Said He Loves Me" by Travelingaires, "All My Lifer" by The Phillip's Specials, "Christian Plea" by Southern Wonders, "Steal Away" by Mighty Revelaires, "He Said So" by Sensational White Family Singers and much more. CD

It's the mid 70s, but Ann's still very much in classic form – with thanks to arrangements and production by Willie Mitchell and backing by Andrew Love, Wayne Jackson, and James Mitchell – and sultry, soulful vocals from Ann! There's a bit more of a groove-oriented production style here than before – but it comes off very nicely, and works wonders with Ann's deeply burning vocal approach. This album stands up stronger next to it's predecessor, the great I Can't Stand The Rain album, better than we remembered – we're glad to tell that! Titles include "Come To Mama", "I Don't Lend My Man", "Love Played A Game", "Beware", "It Was Jealosy", "Doctor Love Power", and "Put Yourself In My Place" and more. CD

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A stone killer from OV Wright – a record that's got all the raw, deeply soulful vocals we love in his early work – mixed with some wicked 70s Hi Records production from Willie Mitchell! Imagine an Al Green record, but with rawer vocals, and you've got a good idea of the feel of this one – a perfect setting for OV's massive talent, and a great way for him to reach out to a wider audience too! The sound is impeccable – about as classic as you can get for Hi – and titles include a number of great Willie Mitchell originals – including "I Feel Love Growin", "The Time We Have", and "You Gotta Have Love". The set also includes a nice version of "Trying To Live My Life Without You", too! CD

We're not usually the sorts to dig tribute albums, but the mighty Mose Allison is one of our favorite talents from years back – and the lineup here do a great job of reviving some of the classic spirit of Mose, while also pushing things forward with their own creative reinterpretations of his legacy! If you don't know Allison, he was a jazz pianist first, and a singer second – the latter the quality that brought him great fame, with lots of New Orleans-inflected qualities in his vocals, and lyrics that had a nicely biting mix of contemporary wit and more vintage themes. That legacy has held up wonderfully over the years – and is interpreted here by a host of different artists – a lineup that includes "If You're Going To The City" by Iggy Pop, "Your Mind Is On Vacation" by Taj Mahal, "My Brain" by Robbie Fulks, "If You Life" by Jackson Browne, "Parchman Farm" by Richard Thompson, "Ever Since The World Ended" by Loudon Wainwright III, "Stop This World" by Chrissie Hynde, "Numbers On Paper" by Frank Black, and "Monsters Of The Id" by Amy Allison with Elvis Costello. Includes bonus DVD of the film – Mose Allison Ever Since I Stole The Blues. CD

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