Incredible pop psych sounds from Grapefruit – a group who might be best known for their early inclusion in the Beatles' Apple Corps – but who can easily stand on their own with the strength of material like this! The production is superb, and the overall vision in the music is sublime – trippy touches, but never too many – and vocals that echo out with both a sense of harmony in the group, and some beautiful larger touches in the studio! The whole thing's got a subtle power that we'd rank right up there with The Zombies, just as they were starting to get great – and the collection finally gets these guys out from the shadows of The Beatles, to show the world how great they were on their own. CD features a number of unissued tracks, and titles taken from tapes and brilliantly remastered – and the set features 20 titles that include "Dead Boot", "Dear Delilah", "Breaking Up A Dream", "Elevator", "Another Game", "Yes", "Ain't It Good", "Sweet Little Miss No Name", "Theme For A Lonely Queen", "Round & Round", "One More Try", "Yesterday's Sunshine", and "Do What You Want To". CD

The complete recordings of The Action – a UK group that we'd put right up there with early work by The Who, and everything done by The Creation at the same time! Like both of those famous combos, these guys start out in mod territory, but already seem to be pushing forward for something new – maybe an echo of psych to come, although these guys never lasted long enough for that scene – or maybe just this richer, deeper approach to songwriting and performance that was never just content to copy American modes of the period! These guys grow a hell of a lot over the course of four short years – as you'll hear here, on 86 tracks that include their Parlophone masters, the lost Rolled Gold material from 1967 and 1968, unusual stereo tracks and other rare material recorded at Abbey Road, BBC live tracks, and even a number of unusual singles and side projects too. The whole thing comes in a great book-styled package – with graphics as groovy as the music, and lots more information too! CD

The overlooked legacy of Bachdenkel – maybe not the biggest name on the British scene at the start of the 70s, but a group who were initially signed to Philips, and made some really fantastic music at the time! The group are a trio, and it's a bit hard to sum up the quality of the work in easy words – as it's sometimes very personal, but not folksy at all – other times a bit more instrumentally intense, yet not really prog either – always somewhat dark overall, and never trying at all for an easy hook or the kind of track that might have gotten them any sort of radio play at all. The initial album on the set is Lemmings, a moody masterpiece that Philips only issued in France, but which is a stunning piece of work – and the second record, Stalingrad, got even less circulation at the time, but is equally powerful too. The 3CD set features both those records, plus lots of bonus tracks added to each – and a full bonus CD of material from 1967 through the 70s – 22 more tracks that really fill in the space between the main records, as does the very detailed notes that come with the package. 50 tracks in all – and long overdue! CD

Two rare albums and lots of bonus tracks from Complex – an obscure British group from the start of the 70s, and one who have a raw, psychedelic sound that feels a lot more like music from the decade before! The set begins with the self-released Complex album – a record that the band put together themselves, and issued as a way to get attention from bigger labels – and while that never really happened at the time, the quality of the material has really helped them go on to become the stuff of legend! The sound is quite raw – guitars, organ, bass, and drums – often with production that's in kind of a mid 60s garage style, which makes even the sweeter, more thoughtful moments come across with an edge – as you'll hear on tunes that include "Witch's Spell", "Message From The Year 2000", "Live For The Minute", "Storm On The Way", "Mademoiselle Jackie", and "Norwegian Butterfly". Next is the group's second album, The Way We Feel – issued in a very small pressing, as more of a boutique project than anything else – but with a raw quality and trippy sound that really rivals the group's debut! The organ is a bit more up front in the mix here, and balanced with some electric piano too – both of which underscore a deepening songwriting talent in the group, who deliver material that would have gone on to become classic, had it gotten the handling of a proper record label! As before, there's an edge and grit to the record that feels more late 60s than early 70s – and titles include "We Don't Exist", "Lemon Pie Fair", "Moving Moore", "Jeanette", "Every Time I Hear That Song", and "If You Are My Love". Both albums are presented here with very rare bonus tracks – and CD3 features even more obscure material – unissued tracks, a 10" acetate, and even their 1975 single for Pye Records. Great notes – and a long-overdue complete look at the group! CD

A fantastic legacy of music from the UK scene – even though it's a pretty darn secret one as well! The Electric Banana were a very unique studio group – a combo who featured Phil May and Dick Taylor of the Pretty Things, right at a time when that group were at the height of their fame – working as a faceless studio combo with other musicians for the DeWolfe Sound Library label – all to create these tight, short rock tracks that would later end up getting used in film soundtracks and TV programs all through the 70s! A surprising number of these tracks have vocals – a bit of a change from the usual sound library recordings of the period – and over the course of the five records in the box, there's a real sense of evolution – on that matches all the growth that the Pretty Things were going through too – although maybe not as trippy overall. The group also features John Povey on drums and Wally Waller on bass – and early work features arrangements from Reginald Tilsley, which drop away pretty quickly in favor of the core sound of the combo. 3CD set features five full albums, plus notes on all the music included – with titles that include "Do My Stuff", "Maze Song", "Alexander", "Street Girl", "Grey Skies", "Free Love", "Danger Signs", "Eagles Son", "The Loser", "Sweet Orphan Lady", "The Dark Theme", "Blow Your Midn", "Love Dance & Sing", and "A Thousand Ages From The Sun". CD

A huge collection of work from one of the most enigmatic groups of the 60s – all of their classic albums for Reprise, plus rare material too! First up is the self-titled Electric Prunes set, in stereo and mono - an early moment of genius from The Electric Prunes – and exactly the kind of record that shows why they were a cut above their contemporaries, and why Warner really backed them strongly right from the start! There's a depth here that rivals some of the group's Sunset Strip contemporaries – and although David Axelrod's not working with them on the record, there's still lots of dark corners and sharp edges – really thoughtful sounds that are spun out wonderfully on fuzzy guitars and organ, with some nicely subtle drums in the rear. Tracks include "I Has Too Much To Dream (Last Night)", "Try Me On For Size", "Get Me To the World On Time", "About A Quarter To Nine", and "Luvin". Next are mono and stereo presentations of Underground – a record that has the Electric Prunes are arranging themselves, and have production from Dave Hassinger. The tracks are shorter than on some of their Axelrod albums, but they're also showing a sophistication that makes the material really compelling – mixing together psyche and garage roots into a sophisticated document that points at the tremendous growth that was going on around them in the rock world. Tracks include "The Great Banana Hoax", "Wind Up Toys", "Dr. Do-Good", "Hideaway", and "Capt. Glory". Next are stereo and mono versions of Mass In F Minor – a beautifully baroque batch of tracks, written and arranged for the Electric Prunes by the great David Axelrod – a really groundbreaking mix of modes that had quite an impact back in the late 60s! The record shows Axelrod's perpetual fascination with the spiritual – mixed with that great modern style of funk that he was forging at Capitol during the late 60s. The record's not really preachy, nor is it proggy. It's more of a complex blueprint of rock, jazz, funk, and touches of soul – all hung together on the same sort of "mass" structure that Axelrod would later use with Cannonball and on his own. Titles include "Kyrie Eleison", "Gloria", "Benedictus", and "Sanctus". Release Of An Oath is the second album done by David Axelrod for The Electric Prunes – and arguably the best! The album's a bit unusual, in that none of the original Prunes were actually working on the session – and instead, Axlerod's almost fully at the helm – putting together the set in a way that's quite similar to his own solo albums over at Capitol! As with those, there's a bold, spacious sort of instrumentation here – richly orchestral, but also quite funky at times – punctuated by great drums from Earl Palmer, bass from Carol Kaye, keyboards from Don Randi, and guitar from Howard Roberts – who's really tripping out nicely here! The work uses the Jewish Kol Nidre mass as its conceptual locus – but really takes off with plenty of tripped-out Axelrod flourishes that make the whole thing a fair bit more psychedelic than anything you'd ever hear in temple. Titles include "Holy Are You", "The Adoration", "Our Father, Our King", "Kol Nidre", and "General Confessional". On Just Good Old Rock & Roll, The Electric Prunes get back to basics – as you might guess from the title – shaking off some of the larger, more ambitious modes of their albums with David Axelrod, yet still retaining a nicely trippy sound overall! The lineup of the group has shifted a bit – hence their billing as "the new improved" Electric Prunes – but although things are stripped-down and simple, there's still some amazing music on the record – a blend of guitar, flute, organ, and vocals that flows along wonderfully with some unusual sounds that we wouldn't expect! And while there's certainly a bit of "good old rock and roll" going on here on a few more straightforward songs, it's not like the album's Let It Be or anything like that – because the group are really more just getting back to the garagey psych of their roots, but doing it a bit better than before! Titles include "Sell", "14 Year Old Funk", "Love Grows", "Giant Sunhorse", "Silver Passion Mine", "Sing To Me", "Tracks", and "Finders Keepers Losers Weepers". CD then features two more CDs – CD5 is shadows, with 19 rare tracks, including singles and even a radio spot – and CD6 features their famous live set from 1967, recorded in Stockholm – plus four demo recordings by Jim & The Lords. CD

An insane package of work from this wonderful British group – a studio pop creation who stormed the charts with one huge hit, but also recorded some really great overlooked material! The style of First Class is a brilliant extension of the sound of American harmony pop of the 60s – and one that blends it together with a good deal of 70s soft rock as well – but always with a super-catchy style that's completely wonderful! The group is the brainchild of Brit studio legend John Carter – and they're kind of a recast take on the sound of the Beach Boys in later years – filtered through a nicely compressed UK mid 70s pop approach that brings in some sweeter, softer modes, but which also has some of that "bump" of glam-era pop as well. The group's best known for their massive 70s hit "Beach Baby" – but they've got a great sound that's more than worth rediscovering all these years later – which you will definitely do when digging through this massive set. The 3CD package features 82 tracks in all the group's two full albums and singles, plus unreleased tracks – and, even cooler, a whole host of rare jingles they recorded – for Right Guard deodorant, Eveready batteries, Singer sewing machines, and many other products. The jingles alone are worth the price of admission – and the whole thing is super groovy, all the way through! CD

Amazing sounds from Kaleidoscope – a wonderful UK psych group from the 60s, not to be confused with the American group of the same name! The sound here is wonderfully fresh – modes that are not unfamiliar from the period, but put together by the group with a great sense of spontaneity – a sort of energy that almost makes you feel like they were discovering all the best aspects of the music while recording the records – a quality that really makes this set stand out from other psych work of the time. There's some occasional gentle moments that almost bring in a Sunshine Pop feel to the music – but never in a poppy or commercial way, and more in the kind of thoughtful balance that you'd find on the first album by Millenium. CD features two full albums – Tangerine Dream and Faintly Blowing – plus bonus tracks from singles too. Titles include "Dear Nellie Goodrich", "Holiday Maker", "Snapdragon", "Poem", "Faintly Blowing", "Please Excuse My Face", "Just How Much You Are", "Jenny Artichoke", and "Balloon". CD

Pure genius from the great Tony Rivers – a harmony pop talent who's not that well known on our side of the Atlantic, but who was one of the key maestros of Sunshine Pop on the UK scene of the 60s! Tony's not entirely at the Brian Wilson level, but he's not far off either – and his work here is completely wonderful throughout, and shows not just a fantastic ear for harmony vocal arrangements, but also for getting the best out of those vocals in the studio! The package is divided up into three sections – CD1 features Tony's group The Castaways on a set of 31 studio recordings, CD2 features his Harmony Grass on another 24 studio recordings, and CD3 features material by both groups recorded live on the BBC – an additional 33 tracks that have the vocals sounding really wonderful even without some heavy studio production! The Castaways material has a bit more twang and rock, especially in the live recordings – and the Harmony Grass material has a near-perfect sound that's like the best California pop productions of the late 60s. The massive package is overflowing with gems – and comes with a huge booklet of notes that finally give Tony Rivers his due. CD

Fantastic work from Syn – a British group who are maybe best-remembered for giving the world future prog giants Chris Squire and Peter Banks – but who are already pretty darn great even without that later legacy of sound! The vibe here is a bit like Tomorrow – the early home of Steve Howe – in that the songs are mostly short, focused, and tuneful, but have all sorts of wonderfully new ideas and trippy touches around the edges – deeper than pop psych material coming out of the US at the time, but equally catchy in its own sort of way! The "rare" here refers to the fact that Syn played heavily at the time, but didn't record that much – so the set brings together a few rare Deram singles, but then also includes a number of never-issued tracks from the time time – all supported by a heavy booklet of notes that really opens up their story. Titles include "Created By Clive", "Merry Go Round", "Flowerman (demo)", "Love You", "The Last Performance Of The Regimental Very Victorious & Valiant Band", "Mister White's White Flying Machine", "The Gangster Opera", and "14 Hour Technicolor Dream". Also features an unusual new track recorded in 2004 – and two related 1974 tracks by Narsquijack. CD

An album that's gone on to be the stuff of legend over the years – even though the original pressing of the record likely never made it out of the factory! Tinkerbell's Fairydust have this great way of blending harmony pop of the mid 60s with some of the trippier touches of the end of the decade – maybe not as weird and wild as the image on the cover might make you expect, but with a special sort of charm that's definitely all the group's own! There's a few familiar tracks on the record from the Cali scene of the late 60s – but the presentation here is very different, and makes the whole thing sound a lot more like some of the lost Decca UK gems of the time than any records that American labels were issuing. Titles include "Twenty Ten", "Marjorine", "The Worst That Could Happen", "In My Magic Garden", "Never My Love", "Lazy Day", "Every Minute Every Day", "Whole World", and "Happy". CD features 9 more bonus tracks, most of which are a nice prequel to the record – as they were recorded by earlier groups The Rush and Tommy Bishop's Ricochets – tracks that include "I Should Have Known", "Walking My Baby", "Follow Me Follow", "Enjoy It", "Make Mine Music", and "On The Other Hand". CD

A much-needed collection of work from Tintern Abbey – a group who recorded one famous psych single for the Deram label in 1967 – then seemingly disappeared from the scene before giving the world any sort of a full album! This set corrects that mistake, and then some – as it brings together a total of 36 tracks recorded by the group, including material designed for a follow-up, and lots of other gems that appear here for the first time ever – a really magnificent batch of music that may well have you putting Tintern Abbey right up there next to some of your favorite late 60s London psychedelic acts! They're not entirely Pink Floyd, but they've got more than enough chops to match the rest of the best of that heady late 60s moment – freaky fuzzy guitar when needed, a great sense of presentation and production, and a really dark sensibility with both the lyrics, and the way they are phrased – which makes even some of the demo tracks come across beautifully. Titles include the single "Beeside" and "Vacuum Cleaner" – plus cuts that include "My Zoo", "Magic Horseman", "Naked Song", "Snowman", "Strange Dame", "Let The Wind Blow", "Stickleback", "Life Goes By", "My Prayer", "Tanya", "Black Jack", and "Bodmin Blow". CD

A glorious assortment of Brit rock gems from 1972 – music that really shows the increasing sophistication of the scene at the time – and a strong move away from the sorts of pop tracks that previously dominated the charts! A few years before, much of this music would have been relegated to the underground cognoscenti – but the tunes here represent a great outpouring of new appreciation for the growth in sounds and styles that had taken place from the late 60s onward – a mode that's only partly prog, as the "progressive" in the title here is taken to be a kind of freer-thinking, more mature approach that really comes through in the well-chosen blend of cuts on the set. There's a whopping 65 tracks in the package – supported by very detailed notes that provide a track-by-track journey in music – really enhancing our enjoyment of cuts by Roy Wood, Free, Clown, Family, Tuesday, Roxy Music, Yes, Medicine Head, Thin Lizzy, Status Quo, Hello, Caravan, Nirvana, The Move, Byzantium, Strawbs, Argent, Bonzo Dog Band, Bombadil, Hobbit, Mike Hugg, Pluto, Jake, Patto, Nimbo, Bond & Brown, and many others. CD

A fantastic collection of work from the UK scene at the start of the 70s – a treasure trove of pop cuts from the time, most of which never made it across the Atlantic to our neck of the woods – and which represent a whole different world of music than you'd know from the classic rock and prog albums that usually represent the period! Instead, these are cuts that were cooked up in the studio in search of a hit – some by names that worked strongly in the 60s, others by new groups – some of whom only existed as a name on a label – but all in search of fresh sounds, groovy lyrics, and a way of putting over a tune that spoke volumes about the studio changes and advances taking place around the UK scene at the time! A number of cuts here have production that might be vaguely in glam territory, while others change up the way that vocals and guitars work together, and others evolve past Brit pop modes of the 60s – embracing psych or hard rock elements, but in a subtle way. As with other Cherry Red/Grapefruit collections of this nature, the whole thing is a stunning journey through music that we'd never have heard otherwise, and never in this much detail – presented with a big booklet of notes on all the crazy cats within – to support 85 tracks by artists who include Paintbox, Simon Turner, Mr Bloe, The Weathermen, Fumble, Posse, Gingerbread, Majority One, Jonathan King, Marmalade, Clifford T Ward, Stud Leather, Paul Gabriel, Autumn, St Cecelia, Rick Price, The Piglets, Kincade, Sweet, The Sad, Gumm, The Angelette, Grumble, Jungle Jim, Shag, Bubblerock, Harmony Grass, Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs, Stardust, Bill Fay, Pete Dello, Buggy, David Essex, Peter Kellern, Fickle Pickle, Touchwood, and many others! CD

A fantastic collection of work from the UK scene at the start of the 70s – a treasure trove of pop cuts from the time, most of which never made it across the Atlantic to our neck of the woods – and which represent a whole different world of music than you'd know from the classic rock and prog albums that usually represent the period! Instead, these are cuts that were cooked up in the studio in search of a hit – some by names that worked strongly in the 60s, others by new groups – some of whom only existed as a name on a label – but all in search of fresh sounds, groovy lyrics, and a way of putting over a tune that spoke volumes about the studio changes and advances taking place around the UK scene at the time! A number of cuts here have production that might be vaguely in glam territory, while others change up the way that vocals and guitars work together, and others evolve past Brit pop modes of the 60s – embracing psych or hard rock elements, but in a subtle way. As with other Cherry Red/Grapefruit collections of this nature, the whole thing is a stunning journey through music that we'd never have heard otherwise, and never in this much detail – presented with a big booklet of notes on all the crazy cats within – to support 85 tracks by artists who include Paintbox, Simon Turner, Mr Bloe, The Weathermen, Fumble, Posse, Gingerbread, Majority One, Jonathan King, Marmalade, Clifford T Ward, Stud Leather, Paul Gabriel, Autumn, St Cecelia, Rick Price, The Piglets, Kincade, Sweet, The Sad, Gumm, The Angelette, Grumble, Jungle Jim, Shag, Bubblerock, Harmony Grass, Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs, Stardust, Bill Fay, Pete Dello, Buggy, David Essex, Peter Kellern, Fickle Pickle, Touchwood, and many others! CD

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Don't know "toytown"? We didn't know the reference either, until we heard this totally wonderful set – and it turns out that the word is a great way to describe a unique moment in British music – one that mixes together whimsical psych, playful pop, and a whole host of groovy moments from artists familiar and obscure – woven together here in a massive collection that's filled with stunning surprises all the way through! The initial impulse is to collect cuts that have a slight nostalgia for childhood and innocence – but as with so much British music of the time, that also means that there's plenty of dark currents and spooky surprises along the way – a not-so-innocent quality in many tracks that really keeps things interesting and on edge all the way through! Yet rather than describe the music to death, we just invite you to dive in and swim through the 87 wonderful tracks in the package – work by a variety of artists that includes David Bowie, Timon, Astronaut Alan & the Planets, Idle Race, Wimple Winch, World Of Oz, The Herd, Fire, Jason Quest, Mark Wirtz, The Tots, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Good Time Losers, The Syn, Majority One, Clifford T Ward, Fire, Jigsaw, Kenny Everett, Simon Dupree, Tomorrow, David Matthews, The Riot Squad, Keith West, and a huge amount of other great acts too – all presented in full detail with the great booklet of notes that comes with the package. CD

A deep dive into one of the shaggiest scenes in London at the end of the 60s – the weird and wild underground of the city's Ladbroke Grove neighborhood, an area that some would compare to the Haight Ashbury scene in San Francisco! The work here isn't exactly the same as sounds coming from the Bay Area – but it does share a similar sense of freedom and letting the freak flag fly – as groups brewed up their own take on styles influenced by psych, blues, and roots – while coming up with amazing music in the process! The cuts in the set aren't the same as oft-trod classic rock material – and instead, the package delivers an underground that often never made it to our side of the Atlantic, and which was even considered the hipper, lesser-known current of the rock scene in the UK. The package features 58 tracks on 3CDs, complete with a booklet of notes on the West London scene and the groups within – a stunning lineup that includes tracks by Noir, Junior's Eyes, Quintessence, Stray, Steamhammer, Hawkwind, Ron Geesin, Ram John Holder, The Deviants, Davey Graham & Holly, Mighty Baby, The Action, Skin Alley, Pretty Things, Kingdom Come, Roger Bunn, Family, Bond & Brown, Peter Bardens, Carol Grimes & Delivery, Ginger Johnson & His African Messengers, Motorhead, Mataya, Mick Farren, and others – and even an early demo from Roxy Music too! CD

A deep dive into the sound of Los Angeles in the middle of the 60s – a really well-done box that somehow manages to mix together all the different strains of music that were going on in the city of angels at the time – sunshine pop, garage rock, psych, pop, and even more experimental modes – served up here in a set list that's full of some of the coolest, hippest groups of the time! The box takes its title from a Beach Boys tune, but this isn't a set of well-played oldies from AM radio – and instead, the selection demonstrates the continued appreciation of this period of music over the decades, and the shift in interest to some of the more groundbreaking, obscure groups of the period – served up here with bigger names as well – all with the detailed notes and overflowing amount of tracks that we love from these boxes on the Grapefruit label! There's a massive 90 tracks in all – with work from Mark Eric, Jim & The Lords, The Heroes, Candy Company, Odds & Ends, Spirit, The Misunderstood, Urban Renewal Project, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Captain Beefheart, Ruthann Friedman, The Rogues, Music Machine, Whatt Four, Velvet Illusions, Merrell & The Xiles, Sanctions, Grass Roots, New Wave, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Grains Of Sand, Merry Go Round, Human Expression, Love, Laughing Wind, Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends, Boystown, Gene Clark, and many others! CD

The birth of hard rock on the UK scene at the end of the 60s – sounds that would go on to shape the world of guitar-based music for decades, and even pave the way for later advances in punk and metal too! The groups here are mostly tight, focused, and to the point – even on some of the selections from some of the acts you might also know from the world of prog – as these tracks often pulsate with a strongly rhythmic vibe, in ways that are very different from mod sounds of just a few years before – and which also make totally different use of fuzz guitar than work from the psych or freakbeat scenes! The package is every bit as wonderful as the second volume – maybe even better, as it features lots of very obscure tracks, and even has some unreleased material too – packaged with a big booklet of notes, and 53 tracks by artists who include High Tide, Tear Gas, Stray, Wicked Lady, Budgie, Stack Waddy, Leaf Hound, Love Sculpture, Dogfeet, NSU, Tear Gas, Edgar Broughton Band, Atomic Rooster, Stone The Crows, Little Big Horn, Tarsus, Natural Gas, Hard Horse, Lightyears Away, Tongue, Sunday, Mouse, Freedom, Sam Gopal, The Move, The Rats, and lots lots more! CD

Fantastic sounds from cats who were really letting their freak flag fly at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s – but not the music of laidback hippies, as these guys are all pretty intense and energetic, and helping to forge the hard rock roots that would lay the base for so many musical styles to come! The intensity of this work is amazing – maybe even more so, given that so many of these artists were recording for major labels at a time long before major labels even knew what to do with music like this – leaving the success of these artists to be the product of word of mouth and underground press – starting out the legends that would have records by these groups changing hands for years to come! We'd still easily trade most of this work for so much later work that sprung up in its wake – as there's a freshness and directness here that really gets to the point right away, and plenty of guitar work that really seems to blow away so many others from the later guitar hero generation! As with other Grapefruit sets, the choice of cuts is fantastic – and supported by a huge booklet of notes that tell the rich tales behind the tunes – a whopping 53 titles in all, with work from Bram Stoker, Writing On The Wall, Thin Lizzy, May Blitz, Stray, Zior, Uriah Heep, Head Machine, Mott The Hoople, Nazareth, Tear Gas, Killing Floor, UFO, Mighty Hard, Quatermass, Trapeze, Episode Six, Grit, Sam Gopal, Steamhammer, Fuzzy Duck, Monument, Ashkan, Mick Farren, T2, Warhorse, Geordie, Bone, and many others! CD

The fourth fantastic chapter in this wonderful trip through the 60s – headed up by author Jon Savage, as a great soundtrack to his documents of the time! If you know Savage at all, you'll know to expect something different and fresh – an unusual take on the period, and one that goes way past the chart hits and overplayed oldies – to instead uncover currents of cultural activity at a much deeper level! And sure, there's a number of familiar songs here – but they're mixed with lesser-known gems, and presented in this great double-length package that features 48 tracks in all – all with notes from Savage himself. Titles include "Talkin About The Good Times" by Pretty Things, "Eastern Organ" by Brother Dan All Stars, "Hard To Handle" by Otis Redding, "Freedom Train" by James Carr, "Say It Loud (part 1)" by James Brown, "Omnibus" by The Move, "Sunshine Help Me" by Spooky Tooth, "Everydays" by Buffalo Springfield", "How Does It Feel To Feel" by The Creation, "Dear Delilah" by Grapefruit, "Machines" by Lothar & The Hand People, "Tomorrow Street Puzzle" by Fairport Convention, "I Got A Line On You" by Spirit, "Kick Out The Jams (preview pressing)" by MC5, "World In A Jug" by Canned Heat, "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams, "Honey Chile" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, "Danse A La Musique" by The French Fries, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, and "Why Does It Feel So Right" by The Shades Of Jade. CD

A wealth of wonderful work from the key years of the British Invasion – including a fair bit of groups who never really crossed the Atlantic to invade our shores at the time! Liverpool is best known as the home of The Beatles, but during the early 60s, the city was host to a huge wave of creative activity – as were nearby cities in the north of England – and as you'll hear in this set, there was no end to the range of groups making killer records over the space of number of years! Some of the work here will ring your ears with familiar tones from UK 60s rock, yet in ways that are different than the mod styles down in London, there's plenty of overlooked gems here to discover – and given that the box set goes well into the second half of the 60s, there's plenty of tracks here that are way different than just the work that grew up in the shadows of the fab four! The package has that fantastic presentation we love from the Grapefruit/Strawberry label – really well-chosen cuts, supported by very detailed notes – a massive 93 tracks in all, with work from The Perishers, Quotations, Satin Bells, Cilla Black, Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas, Wimple Witch, Selftons, 23rd Turnoff, Tony Jackson & The Vibrations, The Mojos, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Wailing Howie Casey & The Seniors, Lee Curtis & The All-Stars, The Big Three, The Kinsleys, Wellington Wade, and dozens of others! CD

The debut of Tom Waits – a prettier, less gravelly-voiced and less knowingly seedy effort as the albums to come – and a set that's as tender as any that Waits would ever record! This is Waits in after hours yearning mode, still upright on a barstool or a piano bench, not yet having fallen in a gutter. It's one of his best records. Includes "Ol' 55", "I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You", "Midnight Lullaby", the beautiful "Martha" – which still one of his best written songs), plus "Rosie", "Lonely", "Ice Cream Man", "Closing Time", "Grapefruit Moon", and "Little Trip To Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album