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... 12-inch, Vinyl record

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The classic critical breakthrough from The Roots – the one that really cemented their legacy as one great hip hop live bands ever, and help paving the way for many fascinating records to come! Do You Want More is a modern hip hop essential, changing the way we looked at hip hop, and certainly one of the most successful efforts at bridging live band playing, sample based beats and smart rhymes. Titles include: "Proceed", "Distortion To Static", "Lazy Afternoon", "Mellow My Man", "I Remain Calm", "Datskat", "What Goes On Pt. 7", "Silent Treatment", "You Ain't Fly", "Do You Want More?!!!??!", "The Lesson Part 2" and "The Unlocking". 3LP version features a whole disc worth of bonus tracks – including "Proceed" versions 2 through 5, with appearances from Roy Ayers and Bahamadia – as well as multiple mixes of "Silent Treatment" – by Black Thought, Kelo, Beatminerz, and others! Features brand new liner notes from Black Thought and Questlove, and track by track commentary too. LP, Vinyl record album

Snoop brings Doggy Style over to Geffen – also the home to the Neptunes' Star Trak, Snoop's partners for this seriously strong later effort – also working with a diverse roster of producers and vocal guests including Alchemist, Lil Jon, 50 Cent, Hi Tek, and others. Snoops laidback rhyme style sounds really great on the Neptune productions, with that glittery minimalist electro sound and the digital handclaps that meld perfectly with Snoop's hazy delivery. The the now classic status of the standout single "Drop It Like It's Hot" is pretty much all the evidence you need, but Snoop's on a real high (artistically, that is) here, and mainstream street hop is all the better for it! Other tracks include "Bang Out", "Can I Get A Flicc Witchu" feat Bootsy Collins, "The Bidness", "Let's Get Blown", "Step Yo Game Up" with Lil Jon, "Oh No" with 50 Cent, "Pass It Pass It" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Donna Summer steps strongly into the 80s with a whole new groove – still working here with producer Giorgio Moroder, but in a way that's quite different than the electro disco the pair created in the 70s! Instead, there's more of a straighter soul vibe to the record, but one that makes more use of the kind of guitar you'd hear in Moroder's pre-disco material – often giving fuzzy fills with a slightly rockish vibe to emphasize the vocal hooks – while Harold Faltermeyer still delivers a lot of cool 80s keyboard lines! Titles include "The Wanderer", "Nightlife", "Running For Cover", "Grand Illusion", "The Wanderer", "Looking Up", and "Stop Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – and one of the most revolutionary rock albums of the late 60s! The Who recorded this one as a tribute to mainstream radio at the time – linking together some solid stand alone tunes with shorter, wittier tracks that were recorded as commercials for products that included baked beans, acne cream, and deodorant – as well as cool announcer bits too! The end result is one of the most sonically complex records issued by a mainstream rock act of the time – sort of like The Who said "yeah, everyone's trying to copy Sgt Peppers with big arrangements, but we'll take this concept album thing in a whole new direction!" Brilliant all the way through, and with tracks that include "Armenia City In The Sky", "Heinz Baked Beans", "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You", "Rale", "Sunrise", and "Silas Stingy". This fantastic new package features the whole album in stereo and mono – plus 26 more bonus tracks, and a 16 page booklet of new notes and photos! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

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The grand dame of hip hop soul returns – and it's hardly a growing effort, it's got some of her best work of the decade! Growing Pains is a restless set of tracks that roll from hard hitting funky soul, to laidback sophisticated jams – working with a number of producers who are all fully committed to serving her best vocal traits. We'll admit we're a bit biased towards the heavyhitters over the romantic jams, but she's really a master of both styles, and everything in between! Her voice has never sounded better – and the titles include the launching pad single "Work That", the killer "Grown Woman" with Ludacris, "Just Fine", "Feel Like A Woman", "Just Fine", "Stay Down", "Hurt Again", "Shake Down" with Usher, "Till The Morning", "Roses", "Fade Away", "Talk To Me", "Smoke", "Come To Me (Peace)" and more. CD

... CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Titles include "Red Rain", "Sledgehammer", "Don't Give Up", "In Your Eyes", and "Big Time". Special anniversary edition also includes the double lenght Live In Athens 1987. CD

A Shaolin hip hop essential! Heavy numerological rhymes, and the best production on any Wu project (still to this day, even). One of our absolute favorite albums in the classic Wu pantheon, and indisputably one of the very best – one of the very few that plays with hard solidity from start to finish. The way GZA's lowkey, unfazable flow delivers this sharp, gritty storytelling over prime RZA production – seriously, it is real Genius! Includes "Labels", "Cold World", "Shadowboxin", "Liquid Swords", "Living In The World Today", "Killah Hills 10304", "Investigative Reports", "Gold", "Duel Of The Iron Mic", "4th Chamber", "Hell's Wind Staff", "Unexplained", "Swordsman" and "I Gotcha Back". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A Shaolin hip hop essential! Heavy numerological rhymes, and the some of the best production on any Wu project ever. One of our absolute favorite albums in the classic Wu pantheon – indisputably one of the very best – one of the very few that plays with hard solidity from start to finish. The way GZA's lowkey, unfazable flow delivers this sharp, gritty storytelling over prime RZA production – seriously, it is real Genius! Includes "Labels", "Cold World", "Shadowboxin", "Liquid Swords", "Living In The World Today", "Killah Hills 10304", "Investigative Reports", "Gold", "Duel Of The Iron Mic", "4th Chamber", "Hell's Wind Staff", "Unexplained", "Swordsman" and "I Gotcha Back". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

With Marc Johnson on bass, Billy Drewes on alto & soprano saxes, Alejandro Acuna on drums, Bill Frisell on guitar & Nana Vasconcelos on percussion. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Pat Metheny on guitars, Steve Rodby on bass, Pedro Aznar on marimba, vibes, saxophone, and melodica, and Armando Marcal on percussion. Titles include "Have You Heard", "Slip Away", "Vidala", "Are We There Yet", and "Beat 70". CD

A great late 80s date from Pat Metheny – working here in a trio with Dave Holland on bass and Roy Haynes on drums! Tracks include "Law Years", "Change Of Heart", "Old Folks", "Three Flights Up", and the title tracks, "Question & Answer". CD

Mos Def brings a veering diversity to New Danger – his first album in five years – a record that hits on tried-and-true Rawkus flavored beats and rhyme schemes, slow-rolling, smoked out soul & blues, and Quickness era Bad Brains-esque arena rock! Of course our favorite cuts are the straight up hip hop tracks, produced by Minnesota with a percolating, synth-layered sound that works really well – giving the backdrop kind of a pulpy, cinematic sweep. Other tracks feature Mos and his soul/rock/blues outfit Black Jack Johnson. Mos clearly refuses to be roped in by anyone's expectations at this point – a quality that reminds us of Common's Electric Circus – in spirit, if not in the actual sound. Tracks include "Boogie Man Song", "Ghetto Rock", "Zimzallabim", "The Rape Over", "Blue Black Jack" featuring some straight electric blues guitar work by the one-and-only Shuggie Otis, "Bedstuy Parade & Funeral March", "Sex, Love & Money", "Sunshine", "Grown Man Business", "Modern Marvel", "Life Is Real", "War" (produced by Beatnut Psycho Les) and more. CD

Two great tracks that show that Mos is tip-top form when he wants to hip hop – even though they come from an album that in many ways steers clear of straight hip hop! "Sex, Love & Money" finds Mos laying back, rolling, and scatting off the wordplay with a cool presence – commanding the track with confidence and a sly subtlety. The beats by Warryn Campbell leave room for a great flute line on the beat. "Ghetto Rock" is not what you'd expect – r.e. the "Rock & Roll" track from Black On Both Sides. It's another sly track, with hazy psych beats and echoey vocals, produced by Minnesota. These two tracks comprise the the best of the hip hop tracks from the wildly diverse New Danger LP. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of his classics – with titles that include "Shame", "Without Belief", "Blood Money", "Control I'm Here", "Captivate", and "Hearts and Minds". CD

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Proving once again that they're one of the most resilient family groups in soul music, the Sylvers emerge here with yet another new groove – one that has the maturing ensemble tackling bass-heavy 80s funky soul – in a style that's clearly influenced by work from the Prince camp at the time! The beats snap around the bass pedals nicely – with a heavier, more pop soul feel than 80s groove – but still pretty well done overall, thanks to the strength of Leon, Foster, and the crew. Titles include "Bizarre", "Bottom Line", "Falling For Your Love", "Got To Be Crazy", "In One Love & Out The Other", "Tension", "You Turn Me On", and "Something's Gotta Give". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

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Go back to the future once again – with a sparkling set of 80s tracks that includes a fair bit of standout rock and pop material! Big highlights here are the tunes "Power Of Love" and "Back In Time" by Huey Lewis & The News – and other 80s tracks include "Time Bomb Town" by Lindsey Buckingham and "Heaven Is One Step Away" by Eric Clapton. Album also features some more 50s-styled material – including "The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry)" by Etta James and "Night Train" by Marvin Berry & The Starlighters – plus the film's famous performance of "Johnny B Goode" by Marty McFly with the Starlighters. LP, Vinyl record album

BE isn't exactly a back-to-basics LP in the vein of his classic work for Relativity – but it is indeed a return to a focused, genuinely soulful, no BS approach – and it's a very welcome one at that! It seems like Com was a bit affected by some of the criticism folks had for the spacious, astral Electric Circus LP – if you ask us Common had no reason to apologize, but we'd be lyin' if we said we weren't hoping for another batch of tracks that sound like they could have been written on a front porch on the southside of Chicago. This is indeed that record – 12 tracks, few guest appearances, and a warm, consistent sound all the way through. There's a 3 track span on this album, from "Chi-City" through "Real People", that's seriously close to perfection. Welcome home, Common! Ruggedly produced by Kanye West, with a couple of stellar production contributions from Jay Dee! Other tracks include "The Corner" feat Last Poets, "Go!", "Faithful", "Testify", "Love Is. . .", "The Food (live)" (this great track has been circulating for a while since it was performed on Chappelle's Show, and we're thrilled Common and Kanye had the good sense to include it on the album), "They Say" featuring John Legend and "It's Your World (Part 1 &2)". CD

Genius from the mind of Kool Keith aka Big Willie Smith aka Poppa Large aka Dr. Octagon. Since his days with Ultramagnetics, no one has mastered the abstract lyrical style like Kool Keith, self-proclaimed inventor of all rhyme styles. 20 tracks, with dope atmospheric features by the Automator and scratches by the legendary Q-Bert, including "Earth People", "I Got To Tell You", "Wild And Crazy", ""Waiting List (DK Snadow/Automator Mix)", "No Awareness", "Biology 101", "Technical Difficulties", "Blue Flowers", "A Visit To The Gynecologist", "Bear Witness" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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A huge crossover moment for the UK scan revival scene – thanks to the instantly catchy "Our House" – nextled here alongside other tunes that include "Madness", "Cardiac Arrest", "Primrose Hill", "Tomorrow's Just Another Day", "Night Boat To Cairo", "House Of Fun", and "Rise & Fall". CD

Seminal work by one of the biggest gospel crossover stars of the 80s – the mighty mighty David Peaston, a man with a truly god-like voice! Production on the album occasionally has too much of that 80s slickness, but even so, David's voice cuts through the whole thing with a spiritual warmth and majesty that's simply wonderful. Titles include "Take Me Now", "Tonight", "Two Wrongs", "In This Together", "Can I?", and "Eyes Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

The second major label set from The Roots, and what many consider their first and definitely not their last) irrefutable classic! We could make the case for the debut Do You Want More? as a bonafide classic, too, but this is certainly the tone certainly the one that cemented their status and one of the greatest live-tested hip hop bands. Given how strong and far reaching The Roots pedigree would become over the years, this one's all the more amazing to revisit – and it's fresh and distinctive to this day. 20 tracks including intro & outro, with "Respond/React", "Clones", "No Alibi", "No Great Pretender" "Universe At War" (featuring Common while he was still Common Sense), "What They Do", "Ital (The Universal Side)", Concerto Of The Desparado", "The Adventures In Wonderland" and more. CD

The Roots make kind of a return to their own roots with Tipping Point – a loose, funky, hip hop soul opus from the legendary Philly crew! The record's got a much more streamlined and focused ambition than Phrenology or Things Fall Apart – and it's a brilliant extenuation of their established style of live funky soul under the forceful rhymes of Black Thought and soulfully sung hooks and choruses. There's that elongated, swirling psych-soul feel that trips it out in spots, but it remains a focused effort, even if the groove is loose. Nothing on the album betrays the crew's now classic approach to hip hop – no trendy concessions or a sad attempt at a radio single to be found. This, kids, is the Roots – they're not pandering to anyone. Tracks include "Star", "I Don't Care", "Don't Say Nuthin'", "Guns Are Drawn", "Stay Cool", "Somebody's Gotta Do It", "Duck Down!", "Why (What's Going On)" and a couple unlisted bonus tracks. CD

... CD

Common lean, filler free late 80s Finding Forever – a set that's definitely the thematic follow up to the semi-comeback BE LP – and a solid one, with highpoints that equal Com's best work of the decade! The set is largely produced by Kanye West, with some terse, harder hitting moments, some laidback and soulful ones, and some really nice homages to Dilla and DJ Premier. Another winner from Com at a point just after he hit a late peak and was still riding high! Titles include "Start The Show", "The People", "Drivin' Me Wild" feat Lily Allen, "I Want You", "Southside" feat Kanye West, totally killer "The Game" featuring scratches by Premier (and a sound that's a total Primo tribute), "U Black Maybe", "So Far To Go" feat D'Angelo, "Break My Heart", "Misunderstood" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – and one of the most revolutionary rock albums of the late 60s! The Who recorded this one as a tribute to mainstream radio at the time – linking together some solid stand alone tunes with shorter, wittier tracks that were recorded as commercials for products that included baked beans, acne cream, and deodorant – as well as cool announcer bits too! The end result is one of the most sonically complex records issued by a mainstream rock act of the time – sort of like The Who said "yeah, everyone's trying to copy Sgt Peppers with big arrangements, but we'll take this concept album thing in a whole new direction!" Brilliant all the way through, and with tracks that include "Armenia City In The Sky", "Heinz Baked Beans", "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You", "Rale", "Sunrise", and "Silas Stingy". Great 2LP pressing – the whole album in a brand new stereo mix, plus 12 more bonus tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

An important solo album from Robbie Robertson of The Band – produced with help from Daniel Lanois, and with titles that include "Hell's Half Acre", "Fallen Angel", "Broken Arrow", "Street Fire Of Love", "Somewhere Down The Crazy River", and "Sonny Got Caught In The Moonlight". LP, Vinyl record album