Here's a group that never lets us down – and one who just seem to get better and better as they move into the farther reaches of their unique approach to jazz! The reeds of Idris Rahman soar out over the top of the sound, and have this edge that almost makes us feel as if they've been electrified for the record – although, as usual for the group, the artful packaging makes it a bit hard to delve into detail – but that's also part of the great aesthetics of the Ill Considered sound! The bass of Leon Brichard is fantastic – this pulse that really holds the whole thing together – while Emre Ramazanoglu goes nuts on the drums, and Satin Singh adds in plenty of percussion – all with this sound that's freewheeling, but always rhythmic at the core. Titles include "Losing Track Of Objectives", "Liquid Science", "Take Your Love Back Home", "Sunday Morning", and "Covertly". LP, Vinyl record album

Ill Considered didn't put much into packaging this album – but that's OK with us, as the music is completely sublime – a really long, stretched-out performance that's maybe their most spiritual on record – with a sense of flow that almost has the group building up like some sort of older act on Impulse Records! The tenor alone is wonderful – raspy, and beautifully soulful – and the mix of drums and these really powerfull basslines add in a lot more than just rhythm – making for a stunning performance that holds us rapt throughout! LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing group, sounding even better here on their second album than they did the first time around – which is quite an achievement, as we really loved that record from this mighty trio! The group's an offshoot from the Ill Considered combo – and they've got an approach that's similar to that group, but maybe even more modal and spiritual overall – tremendous bass from Leon Brichard, tight drums from Tom Skinner, and searing reed solos from Idris Rahman – who blows tenor, flute, and clarinet over the long grooves laid down by the bass and drums! Rhythm is at the core of every track, and there's energy that flows right from the original inspiration of Coltrane's early 60s groove – but Rahman's solos are very distinct, and add a hell of a lot to the already great sound of the group. Titles include "Light In The Sorrow", "Distant Thunder", "Fire", "Mirage", "Under The Night Sky", and "Where The Wild Things Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most meditative albums we've ever heard on the Ill Considered label – and a set that's got a real richness in sound that you wouldn't expect from the title! The tracks are long, and have a sense of progression that builds from a range of acoustic and electric elements – not listed on the cover, and a bit hard to determine upon listening – as the presentation of the sounds is nicely mixed with a good ear towards outward space – almost as a successor to the sorts of creative experiments you might have heard on Brian Eno's Obscure label many years back – or some of the more introspective projects in recent years from Carlos Nino. The set features four tracks in all, each nice and long, and working well together as a whole. LP, Vinyl record album

A familiar trio setting, but a sound that really earns these guys a place on the Ill Considered label – in part because they get some mixing here from Emre Ramazanoglu of that other group! The combo features keyboards from Sam Crowe, bass from Leon Brichard, and drums from Dave DeRose – working in these compelling rhythms and skittish jazzy modes – almost funk at times, but with more of the loose flows that mark some of the more groundbreaking London groups in recent years – reflected in the sound of the keyboards, too – which are sometimes warm, sometimes a bit more freaky and fuzzy – all qualities that are brought out strongly in the mix! Titles include "One", "Two", "Three", "Four", "Five", and "Six". LP, Vinyl record album

British alto player Ronan Perrett works here with great help from bassist Ferg Ireland – in a bold trio setting that's very much in the same spirit as Ferg's recordings in the same format! The group also has Ferg's drummer, James Maddren, and there's a nicely choppy sense of rhythm to the tunes – which are then given these more complex, swirling lines over the top from Perrett's alto – blowing with a nice shift in sonic quality from track to track, at a level that really brings some depth to the record! The whole thing's a nice chapter in the contemporary London scene – with the sort of lean energy we love in a group like Ill Considered – on titles that include "Who Owns The Sky", "All The Time Engaged In Fantasy", "Phantoms", "Snapperjacks", "The Rest Is Silence", and "Ten Futures". CD

The soundtrack to this hit broadway play is mostly poetry – but it's poetry with sort of a hip, black edge, in the vein of Nikki Giovanni, Camille Yarborough, or Jayne Cortez – written by Ntozake Shange and read by Seret Scott, Larie Carlos, Trazana Beverley, Janet League, Aku Kadogo, Rise Collins, and Paula Moss; with titles that include "Graduation Nite", "Abortion Cycle #1", "Dark Phrases", and "No More Love Poems". LP, Vinyl record album

Well, we don't know if Mr B could ever be considered "modern", but this is a pretty groovy batch of 60s pop tunes – like "Mister Kicks", "People", "Wanted", "Wives & Lovers", and "A Beautiful Friendship" – all done to arrangements by Billy Byers, Benny Carter, and Bobby Tucker, with that great mid 60s Mercury pop feel to them. There's some nice jazz elements in the mix, and Billy's always a treat for us! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic session by this groundbreaking modernist – essentially a piano trio album, but recorded with two bass players – Richard Davis and Eddie Kahn – one of whom plays rhythm, the other who solos along with Hill – which makes for a really amazing sound – especially when you realize that the great Roy Haynes is on drums! The result is one of Hill's darkest piano outings, brought even deeper by the bass accompaniment, and the lack of any other horns to support the set – the kind of standout session that somehow made every one of his Blue Note albums so distinct from each other – even though they are so fantastic when considered as a whole – a key moment in jazz during the 60s. The album includes Hill's brilliant "Ode to Von", dedicated to Von Freeman, one of his early teachers – plus the tracks "Verne", "Not So", "Wailing Wall", and "The Day After". CD features 4 bonus alternate takes too! CD

The last of what we'd considered Black Uhuru's crucial middle period, with the Michael Rose, Puma Jones, Duckie Simpson lineup and some awesome electrified production courtesy Sly & Robbie, at the height of their game. With some heavy rhythms, dub influenced atmospherics and excellent playing at the hands of the Revolutionairies, this rermains one of our favorite modern reggae albums. Includes "Chill Out", "Darkness", "Wicked Act", "Emotional Slaughter" and "Right Stuff". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic session by this groundbreaking modernist – essentially a piano trio album, but recorded with two bass players – Richard Davis and Eddie Kahn – one of whom plays rhythm, the other who solos along with Hill – which makes for a really amazing sound – especially when you realize that the great Roy Haynes is on drums! The result is one of Hill's darkest piano outings, brought even deeper by the bass accompaniment, and the lack of any other horns to support the set – the kind of standout session that somehow made every one of his Blue Note albums so distinct from each other – even though they are so fantastic when considered as a whole – a key moment in jazz during the 60s. The album includes Hill's brilliant "Ode to Von", dedicated to Von Freeman, one of his early teachers – plus the tracks "Verne", "Not So", "Wailing Wall", and "The Day After". CD

A now-legendary collection – one of the first later generation efforts to bring back the righteous sound of the Strata East label! The cuts here are all the stuff of legend – some of the most soulful, spiritual jazz cuts from the 70s – virtually genre-defining music, as we've seen from so many folks' use of the term "Strata East" to refer to a certain kind of jazz from the 70s! The tunes all have a long-flowing, and totally organic feel – searching, soaring jazz in the best post-Coltrane modes – filled with experimental energy, yet never going outside enough to be considered avant – a balance that's kept the Strata groove special for so many years. There's a great array of classics in the double-length set – and titles include "Smiling Billy Suite" by the Heath Brothers, "First Impressions" by Shamek Farrah, "Peace Go With You Brother" by Gil Scott Heron, "Prince of Peace" by Pharoah Sanders, "Hopscotch" by Charlie Rouse, "Well You Needn't" by Larry Ridley, "John Coltrane" by Clifford Jordan, "Dance Of The Little Children" by Billy Parker, "Eddie Harris" by Clifford Jordan, "Travelling Man" by Stanley Cowell, and "The Bottle" by Gil Scott Heron. CD

An overlooked set of late disco tracks from this sweet little group – produced and arranged by the great Tony Valor, with the best soulful qualities of some of his earlier work! Valor has a way of really getting beyond cliche on a record like this – and goes for rhythms that are simple and straightforward – and which often use as much funk as they do conventional disco. There's a snapping 80s groove approach to some of the better cuts on the set – complete with a bit of spoken sing-song vocals that could almost be considered a bit of a nod to hip hop – but which have more of a Fatback sort of approach overall. Titles include "Funky Song", "You're Too Late", "You Can't Lose What You Never Had", "Read Between The Lines", "Now I Have Everything", and "Love Explosion". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning work from the great Lula Reed – a bluesy singer who cut some killer R&B work for King Records in the early 50s – material we'd rank right up there with the best Ruth Brown or Lavern Baker work for Atlantic at the time! Lula's got a hip style that's rooted in blues, but has a jazzier swing – and she gets some strong R&B support from the great Sonny Thompson, who backed Lula up on a number of these cuts, and helped forge her strong sound for the label! Like Sonny's work, the sound is more postwar and hip than most of Reed's contemporaries – given that special King Records spark, in a way that makes the tunes snap with a deeper soul current than work on labels like Savoy or Modern. Lots of this work could be considered to be prime pre-soul material – and the excellent set features 24 tracks in all, great notes, and titles that include "I'm Gone Yes I'm Gone", "I'll Upset You Baby", "I'll Drown In My Tears", "Last Night", "Jealous Love", "Bump On A Log", and "Don't Make Me Love You". CD

When Dwight Yoakam and his brilliant producer and lead guitarist Pete Anderson hit their creative stride in the mid 80s and well into the 90s it was possibly the greatest thing to happen to popular country in the last 20 years – and a nice little set of the later greatness is right here in this el cheapo CD set, plus three fine new recordings – "Thinking About Leaving", "I'll Go Back To Her", and a sweet (if unnecessary) version of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." The best of the "new traditionalists" (which is kind of an odd tag seeing as Bakersfield-style honky tonk had always been considered a threat to the Nashville establishment), Yoakam and Anderson made American roots music a vital creative AND commercial force for a time, and this set warrants a purchase just on that basis – not to even mention the great tunes! You get "Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose", "You're The One", "Suspicious Minds", "Fast As You", "Nothing", and more. 14 in all. CD

Pivotal early dub! Depending upon whose history of the Jamaican recording industry you subscribe to, this is can be considered by many to be the first dub LP – and whether that's proveable or not, it's certain among the first! History aside, it's a mighty set with some raw early dub style workouts at the hands of Errol Thompson at the renowned 16 North Parade recording studio run by Randy's, with some deft production by Clive Chin. Needing virtually no introduction, the Impact All Stars drop some incredible rhythms, many which will be immediately recognizable as having been versioned from massive numbers for Augustus Pablo, Junior Byles and the Soul Vendors. Titles include "Java Dub", "Cheating Dub", "ET Special", "Ordinary Version Dub", "Hide Away Dub" and "Black Man's Dub". CD

An unimpeachable metal masterpiece! Master Of Puppets is one of the rare cases when the critical and popular consensuses match right up and are both right on the money – there's just no arguing against this being considered one of the greatest, most influential, and surprisingly timeless metal albums of all time – and it built that reputation organically, fan by fan, without radio or music videos to hype it. All the more impressive for the few disarmingly quiet moments and borderline pretty instrumental passages before the heaviness comes walloping back in, this one is for the ages. All classic songs on this one: "Battery", "Master Of Puppets", "The Thing That Should Not Be", "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", "Disposable Heroes", "Leper Messiah", "Orion" and "Damage, Inc.". CD

The first and best album by the Vibrators, a band that maybe can't really be considered as first wave punk in the purest sense – but who still made a helluva punky racket all the same! The professional studio sheen and lack of angry politics of the record sets Mania apart from some of the more influential albums that came in the months before and after – but the energy on the record is maybe right up there with the best by the Damned, and the group's approach helped set the wheels in motion for the far less hostile new wave scene that was on the way – which then, in turn, helped transform the larger world of rock in the process. Was there ever a better year for stripped down, punchy rock than 1977? Tracks include "Into The Future", "Yeah Yeah Yeah", "Sweet Sweet Heart", "Keep It Clean", "Baby Baby", "Petrol", "London Girls", "Wrecked On You", and more. CD