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A heavy collection of work from the legendary Flying Dutchman years of Gil Scott-Heron – arguably some of the most hard-hitting music that Gil ever recorded! The tunes here are a mix of spoken word tracks, with rhythms – and other tunes that have a bit more of a song-based approach – the soulful use of jazz vocals that Scott-Heron would move into more strongly in his Arista years. Gil's work at this point in his career is dead on the money – totally righteous, filled with soul, and coming across with a power that still holds up beautifully these many decades later. Titles include "Whitey On The Moon", "Free Will", "Evolution", "The Vulture", "Small Talk At 125th & Lenox", "Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues", "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "Enough", "No Knock", "Who'll Pay Reparations On My Soul", and "Billy Green Is Dead". CD

Music from Imagination, Earth Wind And Fire, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Edwin Starr, Brothers Johnson, Heatwave, Gibson Brothers, Odyssey, Yarborough And Peoples, Gap Band, Lipps, Inc., Gloria Gaynor, Ottawan, Village People, Rose Royce, Van McCoy, Gene Chandler, and Tina Charles. CD

There's nothing "flashback" about this one – because the record's about as in-the-moment as you could be for jazz piano in the early 60s! Don Friedman's a really tremendous player at this point in his career – a sometimes unsung hero in the space between Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett – and one who played with the sensitivity of the former and some of the pre-cliche sense of freedom of the latter. There's a fresh voice to nearly all the tunes on the set – even when they're not originals – and Don has a way of making the keys of the piano step forth in waves of sound that are subtle, but seductive – although not in any too-romantic or too-flowery ways. Rhythm is by Dick Kniss on bass and Dick Berk on drums – on titles that include "News Blues", "Flashback", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "Ochre", and "Ballade In C Sharp Minor". CD

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Includes the songs "Respect","You Send Me","The Weight","Baby, I Love You","Do Right Woman - Do Right Man","Chain Of Fools","Ain't No Way","My Song","Tracks Of My Tears",and "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)". CD

Music from the Flamingos, Shep & the Limelites, the Robins, the Desires, the Clovers, the Teenagers, the G-Clefs, the Chantels, the Wrens, and the Chords. CD

10 tasty numbers by Chic, all filled with the lively guitar work and tight production of Nile Rodgers – and the group's own strong talent for delivering a hook that just won't miss! CD

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A wicked set of electro soul from Klique – a trio who've got a lot more to offer than some of their 80s groove contemporaries! The backings are a bit more electric than the funk of their roots, but the overall groove is graced with very strong vocals from the trio of Howard Huntsberry, Debbie Hunter, and Isaac Suthers – who alternate lead and backgrounds, in a way that gives the record the fuller feel you might hear from a group like One Way! The trio get some great help on production and arrangements from Thomas McClary of The Commodores – who brings in all that group's best early modes here – on titles that include "Try It Out", "Burning Hot", "Honey", "Stop Doggin Me Around", "Flashback", "Inside Me", and "Tender Footed". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge moment for Ministry – and the record that strongly brought forward all the underground styles that Al Jourgenson was bringing to the Chicago scene! The vocals and overall sound are a lot rawer than ever before – especially the earliest Ministry music, which was more in a Brit pop mode – and the record is honestly more of a Wax Trax release, as it shows Al's strong links to the industrial underground that had grown up around that Chicago label – as well as a surprising interest in hardcore too. Recorded in both Chicago and London – and titles that include "Deity", "The Missing", "Destruction", "Golden Dawn", "Stigmata", "Land Of Rape & Honey", and "Flashback". 2LP edition features bonus tracks – including "Stigmata (rmx)" and "Tonight We Murder". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "How Many Times", "I Can Only Give You Everything", "Move", "I'm Not There", "Flashback", and the 12 minute title jam "Frustration". CD

Titles include "How Many Times", "I Can Only Give You Everything", "Move", "I'm Not There", "Flashback", and the 12 minute title jam "Frustration". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best jazz rock combos to grace the Harvest label in the early 70s – a German trio who've got plenty of proggish inflections, and who really serve up some great keyboards and guitar over heavy drums! There's a bit of vocals on the set, natch, but the best tunes feature lots of jamming on a variety of keyboards that include moog, Hammond, and electric piano – spun out in a really pulsating set of rhythms. Rock break fans should find plenty of interesting bits on the set – and titles include "Last Dance", "Maze", "Lucky Girl", "Roundabout", "Million Dollars", "Triangle", "School Days", and "Flashback". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked set from the 80s soul mainstream – the first solo album from the lead singer from Champaign! Pauli Carman's look on the cover definitely gives away the feel of the album – sweet 80s soul with a nice blend of beats and keyboards in the mix, all with the right sort of emphasis to balance out the vocals! Pauli's got a bit more bite than you'd expect for such a classy look on the cover – but he's also great at sliding into a mellow, or midtempo number – the kind of quiet storm 80s tracks that are often a good balance to the more beat-heavy tracks on a record like this. Titles include "Dial My Number", "Lose Control", "High & Low", "You Impress Me", "Flashback", "Close To The Bone", and "Dangerous". CD features the bonus track "Dial My Number (ext dance version)". CD

An incredible soundtrack – one of the all-time greats of the 70s! Dave Grusin really outdid himself with this one – and created a sublime mix of sound, space, and spare funky beats that holds up wonderfully all the way through! The main theme steps around in a haunting mix of electric piano, basslines, and muted trumpets over strings – and lots of other tunes on the set follow the same format – taking the best of funky Morricone and Francis Lai, and giving it an even hipper American twist! Plus, most of Grusin's soundtrack work of this nature was never properly issued (like his great tunes for Barretta!) – and this rare album is one of the few that ever made it, however briefly, to the record racks! Titles include "Condor", "Yellow Panic", "Out To Lunch", "Flight Of The Condor", and "Flashback To Terror". Loads of great keyboards! LP, Vinyl record album

The "Lo" in the title here is Immy Owusu's way of hinting at a lo-fi approach on the record – a sound that mixes older West African influences with a more personal, down to earth approach – one that really lets Immy's vocals come across wonderfully – almost more like a soul album, given how upfront they are in the mix – a style that's different than an older singer buried amidst a larger ensemble sound! And yet there's also a decently-sized group on the record too – guitar, keyboards, percussion, and backing vocals alongside Owusu's lead work on guitar and vocals – intimate, yet rich – and with a sound that's such a nice change from records that try for a more slavish vintage sound. Titles include "Holy Shoulders", "Flashback", "Appellation Of Elevation", "Sunsum Dware", "Nyame Kasa", "Right With No Wrong", and "Palm Wine Elixir". LP, Vinyl record album

A 2CD set of archival studio and live performances from 1970 – one year before his debut album – a bagful of great early work from the legendary John Prine back from when he was still literally delivering mail for a living! One disc features a studio performance from August, 1970 – recorded at WFMT Studios In Chicago. Speaking of legends, this happened, because Prine was there to be interviewed by Studs Turkel, and was allowed to stick around and record to send away to have copyrighted! Later that year, he was singing several nights a week at the Fifth Peg on Armitage Ave. in Chicago, where the live material on disc two was captured. Early versions of classic Prine. Includes "Hello In There", "Souvenirs", "Paradise", "Sour Grapes", "A Star, A Jewel, And A Hoax", "Flashback Blues", "The Great Compromise", "Spanish Pipedream", "Great Society Conflict Veteran's Blues" and many more. CD

Sweet smooth modern soul from Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, featuring two of her classic albums for Philly International, back to back on one nicely priced CD! Titles include "What Color Is Love", "Just As Long As I Know You're Mine", "Flashback", "Nobody Could Take Your Place", "I Wanna Be Your Woman", "I Love You Anyway", "Everyday Affair", and the groovy "Easy Money". CD

Ashford & Simpson don't need to ask at this point – their in full 70s soul stride here, and it's not good, it's great! By this point in the late 70s, Nick and Valerie are firmly holding the foreground as artists in their own right after many years of acting as songwriters for other soul and R&B hitmakers – writing, singing, and producing their own work in a now-established tradition of sophisticated soul and uptempo grooves! What they had not done to this point was produce a number of big hits for themselves, and that tide started to turn this this excellent album that's among their best ever! Includes a number of singles that would help them begin to break through to later huge chart success, which was by now richly earned. Titles include "Is It Good To You", "Ain't It A Shame", "It Seems To Hang On", "Flashback", "The Debt Is Settled", and "Get Up And Do Something". CD

A great bit of work from the hip LA scene that centered around the Nimbus label at the end of the 70s – a collective who work together here with the same spiritual jazz modes you'd find on labels like Tribe or Strata East! The group features some bigger names from the scene, including some solo Nimbus acts – plus some other overlooked players – a lineup that includes Henry Franklin on bass, George Bohannon on trombone, Wilbert Hemsley on tenor, Dadesi Komolafe on flute, Jeff Clayton on baritone, and Gary Bias on alto and soprano sax. The album's also got some beautiful vocals from BJ Crowley – who co-leads the group, and sings out with a proud righteousness that recalls some of Dee Dee Bridgewater or Jean Carn's early early soul jazz recordings. The tracks are all long and spiraling numbers – never really "out", but in a free searching mode that's a perfect platform for the piano work of the other co-leader, Kaeef Ruzadun. Titles include "One Step Out", "Flashback Of Time", "All Praises Due", and "Stars In Lightyear Time". CD

Art Farmer really found a great home for his music on the Soul Note label in the 80s – a place where he could continue to grow strongly, in ways that almost let him find a new sort of edge in his horn! This album's a wonderful example of the strengths that Farmer found at the label – as the album's got an easygoing feel, but a bit more bit than some of Art's work of the 80s – a crisp tone in his own flugelhorn, which he'd mastered even more at the time, and some great support from the mighty Clifford Jordan on tenor, whose playing really adds a lot of depth to the session. Remaining players include Fred Hersh on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Akira Tana on drums – a pretty hip rhythm section – and titles include "You Make Me Smile", "Prelude No 1", "Nostalgia", "Flashback", "Souvenir", and "Have You Met Miss Jones". CD

Tracks include "Wayfarer", "Dead Cruiser", "Testarossa (Sebastian Remix)", "Flashback", and "Grand Canyon". 12-inch, Vinyl record

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Billy Strange is maybe best known as a groovy guitarist in the 60s, and a producer/arranger as well – but here he makes a surprising soundtrack appearance, on a set of tracks for a film based on the legendary Marquis De Sade! There's definitely some groovy guitar numbers on the set – with a late 60s vibe that fits the AIP presentation of the story – and Billy also adds in some larger orchestrations that maybe come more as a surprise if you only know his other work – so that the album shifts nicely between more familiar soundtrack styles and leaner instrumentals! This CD version features a hugely expanded version of the score compared to the original album – 24 tracks in all, with nearly 80 minutes of music – titles that include "Nocturnal Permission", "De Sade Nightmare II", "Anne/Empty Cape", "Lovers Walk", "Wine Women & Jam", "Flashbacks", "Skull Orgy (alt)", "The Chase (album version)", "Wild Theater Wrecking", and "The Mirror/Mirror Crash". CD

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour is on the cover – glowering on the front and looking pretty contented inside – for an interview talking up his new solo work, his legendary conflict with Roger Waters, and tidbits throughout his career. Other features include The Ramones at the half century mark, Randy Newman, Sade, The B-52's Kate Pierson, the indie rock supergroup Hard Quartet and Tucker Zimmerman – plus all the great regular pieces and wealth of reviews! Also includes a free CD: Point Me At The Sky – 15 Flashbacks To The Golden Age Of British Psych, with tracks by Soft Machine, Pretty Things, Blossom Toes, The Action, Apple, Piccadilly Line, Fire and more. Magazine

A stone classic from Flaming Ember – a combo with a sound rooted in rock, but filled with plenty of soul too – making they a key funky crossover act in the early 70s! These guys borrow the best of Motown soul and the best of the jazzier rock groups of the time – and often use lots of raw congas in with their percussion – which keeps things grooving with plenty of soulful inflections. There's some nice psych production at times – a bit like the best Norman Whitfield modes at the start of the 70s – and titles include "Flashbacks & Reruns", "The Empty Crowded Room", "Going In Circles", "Westbound #9", "Spinning Wheel", and "Shades Of Green". LP, Vinyl record album