... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A nice lean set from Barclay James Harvest – a record that gets more to the core of their sound after the larger arrangements of some of their albums for Harvest Records – in a way that also seems to bring out more of an edge in their songwriting, too! The shift is somewhat subtle, but effective – as the quartet manage to find ways to make simple guitar and keyboard lines come across with this flowing vibe that often makes the sum sound way more than its parts – especially when set to the inventive themes covered by some of the album's lyrical topics! The drums are great, too – seemingly stronger than before – and titles include "Negative Earth", "Paper Wings", "The Great 1974 Mining Disaster", "Mill Boys", "Poor Boy Blues", and "Child Of The Universe". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool project – one that was initiated by the late Tony Allen in collaboration with Detroit keyboardist/percussionist Jeff Mills – and which is carried forth here by a trio with a really soaring, far-reaching vibe! Percussion is at the core – played both by Mills and by Prabhu Edouard, who adds in all this great work on tablas, which grounds the acoustic side of the record – as Jean Phi Dary plays keyboards along with Mills, and really sends the whole thing climbing to the skies! There's a mix of jazz and broken beat energy going on here – although the beats certainly aren't broken, and we're using that reference to indicate some of the best spiritual inspirations of the 4Hero generation. Yet these guys are definitely onto something new, and very much their own – on titles that include "Rising Water", "Words Of Wisdom", "Peace Pipe", and "Metamorphosis". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A totally great slice of 70s work from Pharoah Sanders – a rare Japanese single that offers radio edits of two tracks from his sublime project for India Navigation! "Harvest Time" is wonderful – this hypnotic bassline, watery light guitar lines, and a raspy, soulful tenor solo from Sanders that's completely fantastic! "Love Will Find A Way" has this romping conga and bassline dancing together – building with modal energy wrapped around a guitar line that snakes in the background – while these really soulful vocals make the tune sparkle before Pharoah comes in for a solo! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

Neil Young in largely acoustic mode after the louder, noisier Ragged Glory and subsequent tours in the preceding couple of years – and whether or not you'd considerate this an official sequel to the classic Harvest album, it's really a welcome return to a timeless folk rock sound and filled with some of his best songs in decades! Studio legends and Harvest veterans Jack Nitzsche, Kenney Buttrey, Tim Drummond, and even superstars like James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt return to chip in, but there's nothing showy or "all star" about it, it's all warmth and subtle beauty. Includes "Unknown Legend", "From Hank To Hendrix", "You And Me", "Harvest Moon", "War Of Man", "One Of These Days", "Dreamin' Man", "Natural Beauty" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Heart Of Gold", "Old Man", "The Needle & The Damage Done", "Are You Ready For The Country", and "A Man Needs A Maid". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of great albums from Babe Ruth – plus bonus tracks too! First up is First Base – the debut of a group so great and so groovy, they ended up having a huge influence on the early sound of hip hop – thanks to a wonderfully funky sound at the core of their progressive rock groove! Babe Ruth have this rhythmic impulse that's really amazing – a way of working bass, drums, and percussion together with qualities that go way past just prog rock noodling – and have this focus that really fits the lead vocals and guitar of Alan Shacklock, who also handled all the arrangements for this mighty debut too! Titles include their classic cut "The Mexican" – a famous sample cut from way back, with nice use of acoustic guitar and a Morricone riff too – plus versions of Zappa's "King Kong" and Jesse Winchester's "Black Dog" – and the originals "Wells Fargo", "The Runaways", and "Joker". Next is Amar Caballero, an album with a horse on the cover, and a sound that's maybe even more soulful than the first mighty outing by Babe Ruth – quite a lot, given the strength of that debut! Female singer Jenny Haan seems to have an even greater presence here – working some nice currents of color through the group's great ability to riff, groove, and sometimes step into more acoustic modes – all while holding onto one of the hippest currents going in the Harvest Records scene – and one of the most unique as well! There's plenty of surprises throughout – and in addition to great cuts like "Broken Cloud", "Gimme Some Leg", "We Are Holding On", "Amar Caballo", and "Doctor Love" – the group also turn in a nicely offbeat remake of "Cool Jerk" too! Last up is the self-titled Babe Ruth, a set that really stands as a testament to their many musical influences! There's few groups who could ever hope to wrap together influences from Stax Records, Ennio Morricone, and Curtis Mayfield – and whole the whole thing could ever turn out well – but the mighty Babe Ruth do exactly that, and still find time for some of their own unique grooves as well! The group are every bit as groovy here as on their previous records – mixing fuzzy guitars, well-crafted rhythms, and a nicely compressed version of prog into an amazingly fresh sound that still delights all these many years later – thanks to well-crafted vocals from Jenny Haan, and sharp arrangements from Alan Shacklock, whose guitars and sense of wit really keeps the whole thing moving nicely. Shacklock penned most of the original tunes here – like "Dancer", "Somebody's Nobody", "Jack O'Lantern", and "The Dutchess Of Orleans" – and the group also turn in nice remakes of "Fistful Of Dollars", "We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue", and "Private Number". 3CD set features bonus tracks – "Wells Fargo (single)", "Theme From A Few Dollars More", "Ain't That Livin", "If Heaven's On Beauty's Side", and "Private Number (single)" – plus a big booklet of notes. CD

Fantastic Isleys from the mid-70s! The record has the group dropping their heavy funk style (which was sounding a bit tired by this point), and picking up a strident soul groove that buoyed their tracks with a spiritual sound that reminds us of some of the best moments from the Brother Brother Brother album! This one includes the incredible song "Harvest For The World", one of the most anthemic soul songs of the 70s – and a monster groover that mixes message-driven vocals with some tight guitar work. Other tracks include "You Still Feel the Need", "Let Me Down Easy", and "People of Today" – and the whole album's one of the group's best from the 70s! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A treasure trove of work from Kevin Ayers – all four of his legendary Harvest albums, plus his Island album – all packaged in a massive set with lots of bonus tracks too! The songs here are amazing – easily on a par with the creative height of the early Pink Floyd – a lot lighter and more whimsical than Ayers original fame with Soft Machine – sometimes extremely playful, and often quite catchy – almost a Donovan-esque blend of folksy roots and jazz inflections – but tuned a bit more towards trippier ends, thanks to instrumentation that includes celeste, electronics, flute, oboe, kazoo, cello, organ, and a wide range of different guitars! Some numbers are a bit more experimental, but the tunefulness of the work is what really wins us – a way of being tripped-out, yet plenty catchy too – a blend that nobody else could do as well as Kevin. CD1 features the album Joy Of A Toy – with bonus tracks that include "Religious Experience", "Soon Soon Soon", and BBC tracks "Clarence In Wonderland", "You Say You Like My Hat", and "Why Are We Sleeping" – the last with Soft Machine. CD2 features a live performance in Hyde Park in 1970, plus a bonus track. CD3 features the album Shooting At The Moon – with bonus tracks that include "Butterfly Dance", "Jolie Madame", "Gemini Child", "Hat", and "Puis Je". CD4 features 12 BBC tracks from May of 1970 to November of 1971. CD5 features the album Whatevershebringswesing – plus bonus tracks that include "Sad & Lonely Faces", "Stars", "Sad Songs", "Fake Mexican Tourist Blues", "The Lady Rachel (remake)", and "Watching The Sun Go Down". CD6 and CD7 feature BBC sessions from January of 1972 to April of 1973 – 33 tracks in all. CD8 features the album Bananamour – plus bonus tracks that include "Decadance (early mix)", "Why Are We Sleeping (live Mile End)", "Connie On a Rubber Band", "Caribbean Moon", and "Take Me To Tahiti". CD9 features Live At Queen Elizabeth Hall, May 1973 – 11 tracks. DVD features rare TV performances from France and the UK – including some Old Grey Whistle Test material – and the 1973 promo film for "Caribbean Moon". 140 tracks, all newly remastered – and a 68 page booklet too! CD

Japanese paper sleeve copies of Shooting At The Moon, Bananamour, Joy Of Toy, and whatevershebringswesing. Each in great condition with obis included! CD

One of the most sweetly jazzy albums ever recorded by Kevin Ayers – a set that almost has him moving in the more progressive direction taken by Soft Machine after his departure! As on other solo Ayers albums, David Bedford had a strong hand in the arrangements – but his approach here is more focused, and often more sophisticated than before – less in the playful collaborative style of Ayers immediate post-Soft Machine years, and more in an ambitious style that pushes the elements together with a beautifully honed sound. Players on the album include Mike Oldfield on guitar, Didier Malherbe on sax and flute, Gerry Fields on electric viola, and Bedford on keyboards – and titles include "Oh My", "Margaret", "Song From The Bottom Of A Well", "Lullaby", "Champagne Cowboy Blues", "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes", and "There Is Loving/Among Us/There Is Loving". LP, Vinyl record album

The "air" here might well refer to the charged atmosphere in the arena during the live show that makes up this set from Be Bop Deluxe – a nice summation of everything that Bill Nelson and the group had done on their studio classics from the mid 70s, maybe stripped-down here a bit away from the studio! Yet somehow, the music also has that wonderful sense of compression that the group always got – a way of layering the sound at a level that's maybe post-glam, pre-punk, and without some of the fuller trappings of ELO, with more of a focus on the guitar. The whole approach holds up surprisingly well on stage – and titles include "Shine", "Fair Exchange", "Sister Seagull", "Blazing Apostles", "Life In The Air Age", and "Ships In The Night". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

With the extended version of "She Blinded Me With Science", and also – "One Of Our Submarines", "Windpower", "Airwaves" and "Flying North". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... CD

... CD

Very nice bit of trippy electric jazz cuts by this short-lived group that included Michael White, Mike Nock, and Eddie Marshall. Nock's Fender Rhodes playing is excellent, and he spins out lots of blocky rhythmic chords – especially on the title track, "Sun & Moon Have Come Together". Cuts include "Ebony Plaza", "Farewell Goodbye", and "Skiffling". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include the "Atom Heart Mother" suite on side one – plus "Summer 68", "Fat Old Sun", and "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "On The Run", "Money", "Us & Them", "Any Colour You Like", "Brain Damage", "The Great Gig In The Sky", and "Time". LP, Vinyl record album

An early 70s collection of previous work from Pink Floyd – and a crucial display of the younger group's charm to folks who'd only discovered them in the longform jamming years! The set's got some great vocal gems from the Syd Barrett years, plus the kind of fantastic guitar work that the group could pack into a three minute cut – long before they were letting loose with extended cuts. Titles include "Arnold Layne", "Interstellar Overdrive", "See Emily Play", "Julia Dream", "Careful With That Axe Eugene", "Cirrus Minor", and "Bike". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the strangest albums ever issued by Harvest Records – a rock opera about the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler – with backing by a small group that includes jazzman Herb Geller on reeds! LP, Vinyl record album

A later record by Soft Machine – the moody, melodic keyboard, synth & piano led sounds of Softs – a '76 effort from a period with Karl Jenkins was largely at the wheel! Jenkins composed most of the material, and his piano, electric keys, string and Mini Moog are prominent features – but Soft Machine still brings the spacey rock, with heavy drums, bass grooves and unhinged guitar solos. Titles include "Aubade", "Tale Of The Taliesin", "Song Of Aeolus", "Second Bundle", "Nexus", "One Over The Eight", "Etika" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A lost jazz gem from guitarist Chris Spedding – a musician whose work was such a key component of many other important albums from the time, but who hardly ever made a record like this! The album's much more jazz than the rock you might normally expect from Spedding – strongly linked to his sessions with players like Mike Westbrook, Ian Carr, or Frank Ricotti – with an all-instrumental approach that's spun out on some beautiful extended tracks! Chris plays both acoustic and electric guitar, but the album's really a full group effort – and features material by Roger Potter on bass, John Mitchell on acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, Paul Rutherford on trombone, and John Marshall on drums. There's a moody, understated vibe to the record – never jamming at all, and this very introspective side of Spedding that we really love. For some reason, although the set was recorded for the Harvest label in 1970, Spedding didn't want it issued at the time – and it initially was only released in Japan. Titles include "Plain Song", "Station Song", "Song Of The Deep", "The Forest Of Fables", and "New Song Of Experience". CD

Spontaneous Combustion blast it out of the park with this early 70s gem – a record that has all the complicated changes of a long-winded prog session, yet packs the punch of a tighter trio outfit in the end! There's a focus here that goes way beyond most of their contemporaries – hard rock edges borrowed from Deep Purple, yet served up with a jazzier undercurrent, and a clear knowledge of some of the headier groups of the time – almost touches of King Crimson at points, or other Harvest label contemporaries. The core energy between the guitar, bass, and drums is mighty nice – and titles include "Spaceship", "Brainstorm", "Child Life", "Love And Laughter", "Pan", "Rainy Day", and "Monolith". CD

Maybe not the first album from the legendary Band – but a record in which the group get everything completely right all the way through – and sparkle with that special sound that continues to influence generations of music makers, and music lovers! All the great elements the group were bringing to their work with Bob Dylan are in place here – but the focus is completely different, with this warm glow that really fits the vocals of Levon Helm, and a sense of unified vision that makes it really hard to even come up with a match for the energy of the group on this album. The great John Simon adds a few special touches to the overall sound – and titles include "Rockin Chair", "Across The Great Divide", "When You Awake", "Up On Cripple Creek", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Look Out Cleveland", and "King Harvest". Includes the original ablum with bonus tracks, original rough mixes live at Woodstock 1969, Blu-Ray audio in stereo and 5.1 surround - high resolution audio 96 kHz/24 bit with bonus tracks and a documentary and the Rag Mama Rag 7 inch. CD

Includes the songs "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", "On The Alamo", "Perfidia", "Moonlight In Vermont", "The Continental", "Midnight Sun", "Lover", "Harlem Nocturne", "The Piccolino", "Shine On Harvest Moon", "Tangerine", "Ridin' High", "Nina Never Knew", "My Blue Heaven", "Stardust", "Tea For Two", "Swingin' Down The Lane", "Younger Than Springtime", "This Nearly Was Mine", "Invitation", "The Sweetheart Of Sigma Chi", "Frenesi", "Just You, Just Me", "Leap Frog", and "Goodnight Sweetheart". CD

The heavy groove of Deep Purple continues – in a style that's a bit more song-focused and guitar-led than the group's debut – but still pretty darn great nonetheless! Some of the rumbling bass of before has been toned down a bit, but that leaves plenty of space for more jamming guitar work from Ritchie Blackmore – as well as more soaring Hammond lines, and vocals that almost hint at soulful influences from time to time. The record's got a slightly heartfelt quality that's almost a surprise – and titles include covers of "Kentucky Woman", "We Can Work It Out", and "River Deep Mountain High" – plus the originals "Wring That Neck", "Listen Learn Read On", and "The Shield". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent group harmony work from this long-running ensemble – a set of tracks that includes "Count Your Blessings", "There's Power In The Blood", "The Harvest Is Past", "Beams Of Heaven", "I Love To Call His Name", and "Sunshine Always Follows Rain". LP, Vinyl record album