The title definitely gets it right – as the quintet's an all-star lineup that features Marshall Allen on alto sax, Kidd Jordan on tenor, Hamid Drake on drums, and both Alan Silva and William Parker on bass! The twin basses are really wonderful – and have this deep texture that really shapes the performance – a sense of tone and timing that brings urgency to the record in a way that either player on their own wouldn't have been able to achieve – often with a sense of soul that really adds a lot to the reeds! CD features six long live tracks – all improvised by the group. CD

An early 70s gem from Captain Beefheart – not as wild-eyed and wacked out as the late 60s glories, but still a good stretch weirder than most of the post psych, blues-steeped rock of the time! Ultimately, it's still Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band, despite it being billed solely to Captain Beefheart on the cover (and his only album NOT co-billed with The Magic Band) – and we'd say it's their first album to go for a consistent mood from beginning-to-end, and we love it for that! If the Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby records are the more feral early twin masterpeices, we'd say this one and Clear Spot are the wiser and more focused siblings, but no less classic! Tracks include "I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby","Grow Fins", "There Ain't No Santa Clause On The Evenin' Stage", "Blabber'n Smoke", "Alice In Blunderland", "The Spotlight Kid", and "Glider". LP, Vinyl record album

An early 70s gem from Captain Beefheart – not as wild-eyed and wacked out as the late 60s glories, but still a good stretch weirder than most of the post psych, blues-steeped rock of the time! Ultimately, it's still Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band, despite it being billed solely to Captain Beefheart on the cover (and his only album NOT co-billed with The Magic Band) – and we'd say it's their first album to go for a consistent mood from beginning-to-end, and we love it for that! If the Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby records are the more feral early twin masterpeices, we'd say this one and Clear Spot are the wiser and more focused siblings, but no less classic! Tracks include "I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby","Grow Fins", "There Ain't No Santa Clause On The Evenin' Stage", "Blabber'n Smoke", "Alice In Blunderland", "The Spotlight Kid", and "Glider". (Note: This item is not for sale online until 7:00am on Sunday, April 21. It is in limited supply – and by nature of the Record Store Day rules it will be offered for sale first to customers who visit the Dusty Groove retail outlet in Chicago the morning of Saturday, April 20. It will not be pre-sold or reserved in any way. However, after 7:00am on April 21 we will offer up whatever we have left for sale online.) LP, Vinyl record album

This is it – the classic stormer by Bill Doggett that made his group a hit with all the kids! The album features the original two-part version of "Honky Tonk", plus the rarer "Honky Tonk Number Three", which as a wailing bit of vocals next to the chorus. Other tracks have that raw raw groove that Doggett forged, with great guitar by Billy Butler and searing tenor by Clifford Scott – and titles include "Leaps & Bounds", "Nothin Yet", "Big Boy", "Slow Walk", and "Afternoon Jump". LP, Vinyl record album

Magical music from the very first note – the kind of record you need to hear if you've ever doubted the genius of Bill Evans! The sound here is subtle, and supple – but still often more revolutionary than that of the countless albums it inspired in years to come – and Evans is completely at home on the record, working with bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Paul Motian – both players who helped to re-invent the role of rhythm in the piano combo of the time! Titles include a sublime reading of "How My Heart Sings", plus "Walking Up", "Show Type Tune", "Summertime", "34 Skidoo", and "In Your Own Sweet Way". CD

Sublime late live work from Bill Evans – a well-recorded performance for French radio, and one that really stands out from some of the scratchier late 70s concerts on the market! Bill's working here with a sound as sensitive and picturesque as the cover image – never pushing things too hard, but letting each tune unfold organically in waves of sound few other players could conjure up! Trio musicians include Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums – and titles on this second volume include "Nardis", "Laurie", "34 Skidoo", "Letter To Evan", and "Gary's Theme". CD

Sublime late live work from Bill Evans – a well-recorded performance for French radio, and one that really stands out from some of the scratchier late 70s concerts on the market! Bill's working here with a sound as sensitive and picturesque as the cover image – never pushing things too hard, but letting each tune unfold organically in waves of sound few other players could conjure up! Trio musicians include Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums – and titles on this second volume include "Nardis", "Laurie", "34 Skidoo", "Letter To Evan", and "Gary's Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

Illa J seems ready to live up to his long legacy on the Detroit scene here – almost with a vibe that has him refining his sound even more than before, while also opening the door to some of the younger talents on the scene as well! We love the crisply cosmic energy of some of the beats – that way that post-techno roots, Detroit artists have of letting some of that earlier electronic magic flow through their music, but in a very subtle way – qualities that are also augmented by some of the guests on the set too! Tracks have features from Amp Fiddler, Dank, Kid Gotti, Frank Nitt, Maine Soul, SAM, Harleighblu, and others – and titles include "Doin It", "No Traffic", "Off The Tap", "Relapse", "Not Ever", "Shine Your Light", "Snaps", "Boom Bap", "Funny", "Showin Love", "OG Funk", "Good Life", "Plaques", and "Star Struck". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "Speedliner", "Pastel", "Groovin'", "Cotton Tail", "Boot 'Em Up", "Bluesitis", "Lean Baby", "Port Of Rico", "Where Are You", "Heads", "It's The Talk Of The Town", "The Kid And The Brute", "Sophia", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Star Dust", "Las Vegas Blues", "Achtung", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "No Sweat", and "Flying Home". CD

The second album from Kid Creole & The Coconuts – a mad mix of grooves with a very unique style! The album follows August Darnell's pattern of blending 20s retro styles with early 80s dancefloor trends, touched with elements of the exotic – in keeping with the record's title – but the set's also filled with tunes that show that Kid Creole had a more soulful side, with a lot more to offer than just a novelty act. Titles include "With A Girl Like Mimi", "Table Manners", "Dear Addy", "In The Jungle", "Going Places", "I Stand Accused", "Latin Music", and "Musica Americana". LP, Vinyl record album

A great 70s UK compilation, filled with rare singles from that brief period when Columbia Records was serving up some killer rockabilly singles! Includes work from Wayne Walker, Ronnie Self, Cliff Johnson, Sid King & The Five Strings, Jimmy Murphy, Johnny Horton, The Collins Kids, and Onie Wheeler. LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime soul from the great Thom Bell – one of our favorite arranger, producer, songwriters of all time – and a talent who really helped push the Philly soul scene much farther than most during the 70s! Bell was trained as a classical pianist as a kid – which might explain part of his ear for a special sort of tune – but by the time of this work, he was neck-deep in the soul scene – and working with a fantastic track record for bringing the best out of a very wide variety of artists! Bell was especially great with groups – he helped more than a few really stretch out their wings and grow – but as you'll hear here, Thom also handled a fantastic range of music in Philly studios – all with magnificent touches that really set the tunes apart from the rest – French horns, harpsichord, and especially that twangy sitar sound that worked so well with a harmony ballad. The set's got 23 tracks in all, and a massive set of notes on the man and his music – with titles that include "What I See" by Three Degrees, "Here I Go Again" by Archie Bell & The Drells, "You've Been Untrue" by The Delfonics, "Moody Woman" by Jerry Butler, "Something For Nothing" by MFSB, "One Man Band" by Ronnie Dyson, "Close The Door" by Teddy Pendergrass, "Life Is A Song Worth Singing" by Johnny Mathis, "Look The Other Way" by Lesley Gore, "What Kind Of Lady" by Dee Dee Sharp, "It's The Same Old Love" by The Courtship, "Do You Remember Yesterday" by The Intruders, "Track Of The Cat" by Dionne Warwick, and "I Wanna Be A Free Girl" by Dusty Springfield. CD

With selections by Sunglasses After Dark, Guana Batz, Brilliant Corners, Stingrays, Boneasaurus Rex, Milk Shakes, The Vibes, Meteors, Bananamen, The Very Things, Sickidz, Tall Boys, Turkey Bones & The Wild Dogs, King Kurt, Bluberry Hell Bellies, and Turnpike Cruisers. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from the Columbia/Epic vaults – rare early rockers by Link Wray, The Collins Kids, Carl Perkins, Mac Curtis, Scotty Moore, Carl Smith, Ersel Hickey, Billy Brown, and the Town Hall Party! LP, Vinyl record album

Arista Freedom release of 2 different sessions by Julius Hemphill – one from 1975, with Arthur Blythe, Hamiet Bluiett, and Abdul Wadud; the other from 1972, with Bluiett, Wadud, and Baikida Carroll. The 1972 session's a bit more interesting, and was recorded in St. Louis by Oliver Sain (of all people!). It's one long track entitled "The Hard Blues", and has an excellent mix of styles, emotions, and voices – with all the players getting in some beautiful solo moments. The 1975 session's not too bad either, but it's just a little too self-consciously out, and lacks the warmth of the other piece. LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's as political as you might expect from its title, and a great collaboration between bassist William Parker and spoken word artist Patricia Nicholson! Make no mistake, the set's a jazz record first, with Nicholson's words added in over the top – as the rest of the group features superb contributions from James Brandon Lewis on tenor, Davin Brahja Waldman on alto, and either Gerald Cleaver or Francesco Mela on drums – a core combo that would be great enough on its own! Melanie Dyer adds in some stunning viola lines to the record in a few spots – and titles include "Little Black Kid With The Swollen Stomach", "Struggle", "Wilted Light As Flower", "No Joke", and "Flare Up". CD

Probably the rarest of the three albums issued by this early 70s funk ensemble – a tight live effort cut right around the same time as Kool & the Gang's live sets, and with a very similar feel! The group are playing before a very enthusiastic audience at a small-time school for boys – kids who were probably troubled and so cooped up that they really went wild when the band showed up to play. Tracks are long, with plenty of spontaneous energy – and the group runs through a wide range of material, all honed into their lively ensemble style. Titles include "It's A Funk Thing", "40 Acres & A Mule", "Hey Love", "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Music Is Alive". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic blues harp and raw vocals from Sonny Boy Williamson – material recorded for Chess during the early 60s, and issued after his death, with a title that's certainly designed to catch the attention of the college kids looking for the "real" thing! The work here is really great – and often gets past cliches you might imagine of Chicago blues – thanks to a meanly gritty style from Sonny, but also some nice sue of organ and guitar to help vamp up the tunes a bit! Chugging rhythms drive along the best numbers nicely – and titles include "The Goat", "Decoration Day", "The Hunt", "Nine Below Zero", "Stop Right Now", and "Close To Me". CD

The Brazilian vibe continues to spread worldwide, as a host of French and European producers go to town on a great set of tracks tinged with the sound of Brazil! This one's a lot more open-ended than some of the other sets on the market with a similar approach, in that the tracks don't necessarily focus on the dancefloor, so much as they expand the groove for a wider variety of experiences. Of course, there's still more than a few toe-tappers on the set – very much in the best style of work on Compost in a similar vein. Titles include "Brazil.com" by Isolee, "Non Fatiguing Natural Silk" by WR, "Ibis Vermelho" by Rom, "My Little Brazilian Pony" by Dr Rockit, "Tridade" by Alex Kid feat Jerome Badini, "Jelba" by Russ Gabriel, "Obrigado" by The Deal, "Bahia Blues" by DJ Spinna, "Tiu Ba La Quieba" by Boyz From Brazil, and "Kotu Rete" by Mental Remedy. CD

A 2LP set that pulls together Riverside recordings initially issued on the albums Moonbeams and How My Heart Sings – both of which feature Bill Evans working his second trio that includes Chuck Israels on bass and Paul Motian on drums. The approach is in his signature style: spare, moody – and we mean that in a good way – interpretations of standards and a few original numbers, including "Re: Person I Knew", "Very Early", "In Love In Vain", "Stairway To The Stars", "I FallIn Love Too Easily", "If You Could See Me Now","It Might As Well Be Spring", "Walking Up", "How My Heart Sings", "34 Skidoo", and "Polka Dots & Moonbeams". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from the St Louis scene of the early 70s – one that was humming nearly as much as Chicago was with the AACM at the time! As with the larger organization in the Windy City, St Louis had the Black Artists Group – of which Julius Hemphill was a key member, forming fresh new ideas in improvisatory jazz with players who went onto have an undeniable impact on the global scene as well. This album's one of the standout recordings of the Black Artists era at its best – a record produced by Hemphill, but equally balanced between his own alto and flute, the trumpet of Baikida Carroll, cello of Abdul Wadud, and drums of Phillip Wilson – plus a bit of added baritone from Haimet Bluiett. The rhythms are quite open, but there's also a nice sense of structure to the record too – a bridge between spiritual and free jazz that prefaces the impact that both Hemphill and Bluiett would have on the New York loft jazz generation. Titles include "Dogon AD", "Rites", and "The Painter". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from the St Louis scene of the early 70s – one that was humming nearly as much as Chicago was with the AACM at the time! As with the larger organization in the Windy City, St Louis had the Black Artists Group – of which Julius Hemphill was a key member, forming fresh new ideas in improvisatory jazz with players who went onto have an undeniable impact on the global scene as well. This album's one of the standout recordings of the Black Artists era at its best – a record produced by Hemphill, but equally balanced between his own alto and flute, the trumpet of Baikida Carroll, cello of Abdul Wadud, and drums of Phillip Wilson – plus a bit of added baritone from Haimet Bluiett. The rhythms are quite open, but there's also a nice sense of structure to the record too – a bridge between spiritual and free jazz that prefaces the impact that both Hemphill and Bluiett would have on the New York loft jazz generation. Titles include "Dogon AD", "Rites", and "The Painter". Great reissue too – in a gatefold LP-styled cover, with bonus insert notes, including the artwork from the original 1972 pressing on Hemphill's Mbari label! CD also features a bonus track – "Hard Blues" from Hemphill's Coon Business album! CD

A wonderful set, and one that's definitely filled with spirits – most particularly from the tenor of Kidd Jordan, which has all this subtle power behind it, at a level that really gives proof to Jordan's many years on the freer side of the jazz spectrum! The trio here also features Alvin Fielder on drums and percussion, and Joel Futterman on piano, Indian flute, and curved soprano sax – but throughout the proceedings, which are freely improvised, the tenor of Jordan seems to be the real anchor in sound – an element that can match the modes of the other players, but also provide some direction too. Titles include "Start Stop", "Run Drop", "Start Continue", "Ripples, and "Double Strike". CD

Kanye West's & Kid Cudi's joint debut as Kids See Ghosts! Each looks inward and tackles existential personal issues on the lyrical front, with kind of a spacey melancholy vibe to the production, and with cool synths and fuzz-steeped production with some really interesting samples in the mix – from Mr Chop to Kurt Cobain. Officially billed as an album, but with 7 tracks and a 23 minute length, it's straddling the line between EP and full length when it comes to running time – but that's not a knock as it's a tight, filler free effort. Includes "Feel The Love", "Fire", "4th Dimension", "Freeee (Ghost Town Pt 2)", "Reborn", "Kids See Ghosts" & "Cudi Montage". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work from the "Vice Pres" – tenorist Paul Quinichette, stepping out here in one the best of of his all-too-few sessions as a leader! Paul's tone is amazing throughout – very much on a par with that of Ben Webster or Coleman Hawkins, and proof that his admission to the jazz "executive branch" in the 50s was well deserved. The tunes are shortish, but very swinging – and Quinichette's tenor work dominates in a group that also includes Nat Pierce, Henry Coker, Thad Jones, Freddie Green, and Joe Newman. There's a Basie-esque swing overall – but the final result is miles from Basie, and has a very different vibe overall. Titles include "Big Deal", "Happy Feeling", "Pardon The Blues Please", "Start Here", and "The Kid From Denver". LP, Vinyl record album

A really joyous collection of grooves selected by Alex Attias – work that's maybe even more uplifting than the first volume in this series – and we really liked that one a heck of a lot too! Most of the tracks are relatively contemporary – selected by Attias from the work of underground colleagues over the past few years – and they're put together in a way that's even more than the sum of their mighty parts – the kind of careful ear for a well-selected track list that reminds us of the sort of albums that made us first fall in love with the BBE label many years back! In a world of dark corners and uncertainty, this is a set that will help you find the way forward, and have a hell of a good time doing it – thanks to tracks that include "Gwotet (Alex Attias LillyGood Party edit)" by David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters with Pharoah Sanders, "Open Up Your Mind (Honeycomb voc mix)" by Universal Tongues feat Elle, "Star Child Going Home" by MJ Lallo, "Freedom Flight (Alex Attias LillyGood Party edit)" by Mausiki Scales, "Children Of The World (Ben Brophy edit)" by Elements Of Life feat Josh Milian, and "How Bad I Want Ya (GU peak tru time mix)" by Stacy Kidd with Peven Everett. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual albums ever issued on the legendary Discos Fuentes label – and that's saying a lot, given how many unusual albums the company put out! This set's got a core Colombian groove in the rhythms – very much in the rootsy style that the company was making a name for in the 60s – great percussion, a nice raw edge in the production, and that slight variation in groove that made Colombian music a really refreshing change from the sounds of Havana and New York! Yet the real difference here is that the singer is a kid – the lovely Aurita pictured on the cover – a vocalist who's got this unusual depth for someone her age, this rawness at times that really comes across in a striking way – almost the unbridled energy and emotion that you'd never hear from an adult. That quality livens up the grooves in this really unusual way – all the charms of a vintage Discos Fuentes album, but with a very different spin! Titles include "El Vaquero", "Las Polleras", "Mompoxina", "Chambacu", "Festival En Guarare", "Carino Lindo", and "Lamento De Sirena". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual albums ever issued on the legendary Discos Fuentes label – and that's saying a lot, given how many unusual albums the company put out! This set's got a core Colombian groove in the rhythms – very much in the rootsy style that the company was making a name for in the 60s – great percussion, a nice raw edge in the production, and that slight variation in groove that made Colombian music a really refreshing change from the sounds of Havana and New York! Yet the real difference here is that the singer is a kid – the lovely Aurita pictured on the cover – a vocalist who's got this unusual depth for someone her age, this rawness at times that really comes across in a striking way – almost the unbridled energy and emotion that you'd never hear from an adult. That quality livens up the grooves in this really unusual way – all the charms of a vintage Discos Fuentes album, but with a very different spin! Titles include "El Vaquero", "Las Polleras", "Mompoxina", "Chambacu", "Festival En Guarare", "Carino Lindo", and "Lamento De Sirena". LP, Vinyl record album

Magical music from the very first note – the kind of record you need to hear if you've ever doubted the genius of Bill Evans! The sound here is subtle, and supple – but still often more revolutionary than that of the countless albums it inspired in years to come – and Evans is completely at home on the record, working with bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Paul Motian – both players who helped to re-invent the role of rhythm in the piano combo of the time! Titles include a sublime reading of "How My Heart Sings", plus "Walking Up", "Show Type Tune", "Summertime", "34 Skidoo", and "In Your Own Sweet Way". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that maybe seemed like something of a one-off at the time of release – given that Gorillaz were more of a "virtual group" cooked up by Damon Albarn of Blur – but a set that's had surprising staying power over the years, thanks to a solid set of hip hop contributions from Dan The Automator, and guest work from Kid Koala and Del The Funkee Homosapien! The hit quality of the tracks soon eclipsed the fact that the Gorillaz were more of a studio project than a real band – and hey, maybe the whole thing was a nod at The Monkees – who had an initial start as a made-up band too. Titles include "Clint Eastwood", "Rock The House", "Latin Simone", "M1 A1", "Man Research", "Sound Check", "Double Bass", "Starshine", "Slow Country", "Re-Hash", and "5/4". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that maybe seemed like something of a one-off at the time of release – given that Gorillaz were more of a "virtual group" cooked up by Damon Albarn of Blur – but a set that's had surprising staying power over the years, thanks to a solid set of hip hop contributions from Dan The Automator, and guest work from Kid Koala and Del The Funkee Homosapien! The hit quality of the tracks soon eclipsed the fact that the Gorillaz were more of a studio project than a real band – and hey, maybe the whole thing was a nod at The Monkees – who had an initial start as a made-up band too. Titles include "Clint Eastwood", "Rock The House", "Latin Simone", "M1 A1", "Man Research", "Sound Check", "Double Bass", "Starshine", "Slow Country", "Re-Hash", and "5/4". LP, Vinyl record album

2 different sessions by Julius Hemphill – one from 1975, with Arthur Blythe, Hamiet Bluiett, and Abdul Wadud; the other from 1972, with Bluiett, Wadud, and Baikida Carroll. The 1972 session's a bit more interesting, and was recorded in St. Louis by Oliver Sain (of all people!). It's one long track entitled "The Hard Blues", and has an excellent mix of styles, emotions, and voices – with all the players getting in some beautiful solo moments. The 1975 session's not too bad either, but it's just a little too self-consciously out, and lacks the warmth of the other piece. Other tracks include "Skin 2", "Lyric", "Reflections", and "Skin One". CD

Excellent funky stuff from Kid Loco & Yellow Productions team. As the notes say: "Produced and mixed with incomparable taste and perception by the still handsome but real stoned Kid Loco," and as proof, the record's sot some timeless heavy beats, some vocals, some funky rumbling bass, all nicely messed up! A modern classic – with titles including "The Bootleggers", "Calling Adventura King", "Relaxin With Cherry", and "Alone Again So", "Cosmic Supernatural" and more. This is the French version, with 2 CDs and some extra mixes, too! CD

Brilliant work from the "Vice Pres" – tenorist Paul Quinichette, stepping out here in one the best of of his all-too-few sessions as a leader! Paul's tone is amazing throughout – very much on a par with that of Ben Webster or Coleman Hawkins, and proof that his admission to the jazz "executive branch" in the 50s was well deserved. The tunes are shortish, but very swinging – and Quinichette's tenor work dominates in a group that also includes Nat Pierce, Henry Coker, Thad Jones, Freddie Green, and Joe Newman. There's a Basie-esque swing overall – but the final result is miles from Basie, and has a very different vibe overall. Titles include "Big Deal", "Happy Feeling", "Pardon The Blues Please", "Start Here", and "The Kid From Denver". CD features all the material from the album Kid From Denver – plus 4 more bonus tracks from other sessions Quinichette recorded with the Gene Roland sextet and septet – "Suitcase", "Minor Scene", "Colonel Hodge", and "The Creeper". CD

Features mammoth Redd Foxx vinyl, CD, video, and TV discography of over 200 titles; a Rudy Ray Moore interview; Dickies interview; Pat Boone interview, with dozens of musicians and writers debating whether he should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Swamp Dogg interview; Andre Williams meets Los Straitjackets; Cub Koda eulogy; Xuxa article; Maceo interview; Kid Creole interview; T. Valentine photo feature; and lots lots more! Magazine

Mindblowing work from this important Brit jazz group – working here with an augmented lineup that's mighty nice! In addition to soprano, baritone, and bass clarinet from John Surman – plus bass from Barre Phillips and drums from Stu Martin – the set also features cornet from Harry Beckett and Mark Charig, trombone from Nick Evans and Malcolm Griffiths, piano from Chick Corea, tenor and flute from Alan Skidmore, trumpet from Kenny Wheeler, alto and clarinet from Mike Osborne, and bass from Dave Holland. Titles include "Conflagration", "After The Morrow", "Nuts", and "Malachite". LP, Vinyl record album

Two Groove Merchant albums by organist Reuben Wilson – back to back in one single set! First up is Sweet Life – a great groover by Wilson, and one of his best albums ever! The funky organist really takes off from the sound of his earlier Blue Note albums here – hitting a vibe that's sharper, darker, and plenty darn righteous – still small combo jazz funk, but with a depth that we wouldn't have expected a few years before! The group's a great one – with Ramon Morris laying down some great lines on tenor sax, plus Bill Hardman on trumpet, Lloyd Davis on guitar, Mickey Bass on bass, and Thomas Derrick on tightly funky drums. The album features Reuben's amazing cover of "Inner City Blues" – which has a great jagged groove that was sampled years back by Tribe Called Quest – and it also includes the groovy cut "Creampuff", plus "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Sugar", "I'll Take You There", and "The Sweet Life". On Cisco Kid, Reuben Wilson's working with an all-hip lineup, with players who include Melvin Sparks on guitar, Garnett Brown on trombone, Bob Cranshaw on bass, Mickey Roker on drums, and Ray Amando on conga. The groove has a nicely choppy approach to rhythm, which you'll hear on the nice remake of "Cisco Kid", a big sample hit over the years – plus the sweet originals "Groove Grease" and "Snaps", both of which are hard and funky! The album's also got a great cover of "Superfly" – and other tracks that include "The Look Of Love", "We've Only Just Begun", and "Last Tango In Paris". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of rare B-Sides by Fleetwood Mac, Marshall Crenshaw, Depeche Mode, Rank And File, B-52's, Pretenders, Talking Heads, Echo And The Bunnymen, Tom Verlaine, Kid Creole And The Coconuts, Madonna, and Aztec Camera. LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant return to Montreux from Bill Evans – working here with a trio that includes some killer bass work by Eddie Gomez! The set's an acoustic one – despite its appearance on electric powerhouse CTI – but Evans' work on the piano has an electricity that's all its own, magically crafting waves and shapes of sound and tone. And despite the CTI setting, there's a nicely spacious sound to the way the album was recorded – one that's got a bit less of the "perfection" than on some of Bill's other 70s live dates – a sense of humanity that comes through wonderfully, and which makes this one a very special record! Titles include "Very Early", "34 Skidoo", "Israel", and "Peri's Scope". CD

A brilliant return to Montreux from Bill Evans – working here with a trio that includes some killer bass work by Eddie Gomez! The set's an acoustic one – despite its appearance on electric powerhouse CTI – but Evans' work on the piano has an electricity that's all its own, magically crafting waves and shapes of sound and tone. And despite the CTI setting, there's a nicely spacious sound to the way the album was recorded – one that's got a bit less of the "perfection" than on some of Bill's other 70s live dates – a sense of humanity that comes through wonderfully, and which makes this one a very special record! Titles include "Very Early", "34 Skidoo", "Israel", and "Peri's Scope". CD

A brilliant return to Montreux from Bill Evans – working here with a trio that includes some killer bass work by Eddie Gomez! The set's an acoustic one – despite its appearance on electric powerhouse CTI – but Evans' work on the piano has an electricity that's all its own, magically crafting waves and shapes of sound and tone. And despite the CTI setting, there's a nicely spacious sound to the way the album was recorded – one that's got a bit less of the "perfection" than on some of Bill's other 70s live dates – a sense of humanity that comes through wonderfully, and which makes this one a very special record! Titles include "Very Early", "34 Skidoo", "Israel", and "Peri's Scope". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue collection of work by Balka Sound – an important 80s group from Brazzaville, and one whose name evokes their style of music – a sound based in folksy roots, but which is updated here with electric guitar and bass, next to lively percussion and really great vocals! The group's lead singer is Nkibi Albert, who has this really enigmatic way of putting across a lyric, especially when a bit of echo is used in the production – and amidst the other instrumentation, he also plays ngonfi as well. The production is great on most of these tracks – not nearly as mainstream as other African sounds from the time, which were rising to meet the global world music market – and titles include "Bia Sala", "Lekou", "Ku Mavula", "Kidilu", "Ah Luisaala", "Nia Nia", "Wa Yiwou", "Mwan Kisana", and "Kwele". CD

The funky Root Down EP by the Beastie Boys – riding high on a mid 90s creative peak! Root Down featuring a trio of versions of the title track and Ill Communication album standout, based on the Jimmy Smith's classic of the same name – and in hindsight, you really have to hand it to the Beasties, not only sampling and celebrating classic early 70s jazz funk, but for their earnest wish to introduce Jimmy Smith to the pop culture kids of the 90s – including a killer remix by the mighty Prince Paul. Also includes some live recordings from the time of classic Beasties tracks like"Time For Livin", "The Maestro", "Somethin's Got To Give", Time To Get Ill", thier punky "Heart Attack Man", "Sabrosa" and "Flute Loop". CD

Early work from pianist Paul Bley – material that really shows his commitment to the songwriting strengths of the great Annette Peacock! The first two thirds of the set features European material recorded in Rome and Baarn in 1966 – Bley working alongside bassist Mark Levinson and drummer Barry Altschul, both of whom had joined Paul on the groundbreaking Blood album – and who work here in similar territory, but on shorter tracks that are still relatively free and open overall! The tracks represent key recordings of songs that Bley would rework later on – titles that include "Blood", "Touching", "Nothing Ever Was Anyway", "Kid Dynamite", "Mister Joy", "Albert's Love Theme", and "El Cordobes". The last third of the record features material from 1968, recorded in Seattle with a trio that features Gary Peacock on bass and Billy Elgart on drums – revisiting some of the same material, but with a very different vibe – on tracks that include "Mister Joy", "Touching", "Kid Dynamite", "El Cordobes", "Blood", and "Nothing Ever Was Anyway". CD

You gotta love Ken Boothe – a guy who can take familiar pop tunes like "Impossible Dream" and "Theme From The Godfather", and turn them into surprisingly soulful reggae classics! Yet that kind of magic is exactly what makes a great reggae album so great – the kind of special inflection and inversion of source material, especially when mixed with original inspiration – and served up in a classic Kingston setting that features the great Lloyd Charmers on piano and organ, as well as production of the entire set! But it's the soulful style of Boothe that really makes the whole thing great – as he presents the tunes with one of the most unique voices in 70s Jamaican music – almost a Caribbean trill at points, but mixed with raspier soul at other times. Titles include "Speak Softly Love", "Everything I Own", "Evil Girl", "Crying Over You", "Sad & Lonely", "Impossible Dream", "You Will Reach Your Goal", "Time Passage", and "My Kid". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more orchestral of Roy Budd's scores from the 70's, but still with some nice moments that give a good focus to Roy's piano. The score was written for an Eastern thriller starring David Niven and Toshiro Mifune, and the tracks are a mix of easy and action themes – including "Kidnapped", "Out Of Control", "Who Knows The Answers", "The Reception", "Diplomatic Dance", and "The Cable Car". Some cuts have a vocal chorus, for a dreamy haunting sound, and others have Budd's piano right up front. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Donald Byrd albums ever – a smoking live performance spread out over two different records – all with some of the tightest, most grooving work that Byrd ever recorded in his early years on Blue Note! Part of the strength of the set is the group – as Don's trumpet is alongside the brilliant baritone of Pepper Adams – who plays with the deftness of a tenor, but with a richer, fuller sound – and the group also includes the great Duke Pearson on piano, who has this way of comping out tunes that are soulful, but richly lyrical too. The group's completed by Lex Humphries on drums and Laymon Jackson on bass – and titles on this first volume include nice long versions of "Soulful Kiddy", "My Girl Shirl", and "Cecile". LP, Vinyl record album

An entire film that's one big pot joke, and we have to admit, we still laugh at it every time. Skits, dialogue and music from the film, including "The Finkelstein Sh!t Kid" by Mr Stoner, "Low Rider" by War, "1st Gear, 2nd Gear" by Pedro and Man, "Framed" and "Rock Fight" by Cheech & Chong, "Searchin'" by the Search Boys, "Here Come The Mounties To The Rescue", "Lost Due To Incompetence (Theme For a Big Green Van)" and "Strawberries" by Yesca, "Earache My Eye" by Alice Bowie, "Sometimes When You Gotta Go, You Can't" by Pedro and Sgt Stedenko, and "Lard Ass" by Pedro, Man, Clyde & Sgt Stedenko. (Note: This item is not for sale online until 7:00am on Sunday, April 21. It is in limited supply – and by nature of the Record Store Day rules it will be offered for sale first to customers who visit the Dusty Groove retail outlet in Chicago the morning of Saturday, April 20. It will not be pre-sold or reserved in any way. However, after 7:00am on April 21 we will offer up whatever we have left for sale online.) LP, Vinyl record album

The classic sound of Funkadelic, reworked by a key selection of contemporary talents from the Detroit scene – but never in a way that wrecks the originals at all! Unlike other remix projects, which might break up the music to a point that you can hardly recognize the original grooves – this set does a wonderful job of maintaining all the integrity of the famous funky recordings by the group, while also letting some artists from the group's hometown also include a few of their own contributions too – all in ways that really expand the original vision of the music, while keeping things in a funky soul vein all the way through! Given all the greateness of Detroit grooves in recent years – from that city's very fertile underground of producers and musicians – the sound here is still even more amazing than we expected, and the album's a very fitting one to be issued on the Westbound label. The set's double-length, and for good reason too – and titles include "Music 4 My Mother (Underground Resistance mix)", "Sexy Ways (Recloose disco flip)", "Get Your Ass Off & Jam (Marcellus Pittman rmx)", "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure (Alton Miller mix)", "Super Stupid (Dirtbombs version)", "Music For My Mother (Andres Wo Ahh Ay voc mix)", "Cosmic Slop (Moodymann mix)", "Be My Beach (Mophono & Tom Thump)", "Let's Make It Last (Kenny Dixon Jr edit)", "Let's Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler @Ya mix)", "Undisco Kidd (Gay Marvine edit)", "Looking Back At You (Ectomorph stripped & dubbed)", and "Standing On The Verge (Anthony Shake Shakir & T Dancer rmx)". CD

The classic sound of Funkadelic, reworked by a key selection of contemporary talents from the Detroit scene – but never in a way that wrecks the originals at all! Unlike other remix projects, which might break up the music to a point that you can hardly recognize the original grooves – this set does a wonderful job of maintaining all the integrity of the famous funky recordings by the group, while also letting some artists from the group's hometown also include a few of their own contributions too – all in ways that really expand the original vision of the music, while keeping things in a funky soul vein all the way through! Given all the greateness of Detroit grooves in recent years – from that city's very fertile underground of producers and musicians – the sound here is still even more amazing than we expected, and the album's a very fitting one to be issued on the Westbound label. The set's double-length, and for good reason too – and titles include "Music 4 My Mother (Underground Resistance mix)", "Sexy Ways (Recloose disco flip)", "Get Your Ass Off & Jam (Marcellus Pittman rmx)", "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure (Alton Miller mix)", "Super Stupid (Dirtbombs version)", "Music For My Mother (Andres Wo Ahh Ay voc mix)", "Cosmic Slop (Moodymann mix)", "Be My Beach (Mophono & Tom Thump)", "Let's Make It Last (Kenny Dixon Jr edit)", "Let's Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler @Ya mix)", "Undisco Kidd (Gay Marvine edit)", "Looking Back At You (Ectomorph stripped & dubbed)", and "Standing On The Verge (Anthony Shake Shakir & T Dancer rmx)". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful post-Atlantic album from Nikki Giovanni – much more intimate and personal than her better known work, with only Nikki's voice throughout the album – heard on a number of shorter poems! At some level, Giovanni seems to have left behind the more righteous themes of before, and is going for a mode here that's a bit more everyday – but still touched with the deeper reflections that make her so great. The titles of the poems tell enough about the subject matter – and they include "Parent's Never Understand", "Mommie's Daddies", "Ego Tripping", "James Shell's Snowball Stand", "Knoxville Tennessee", "Winter Poem", "The Drum", and "Kidnap Poem". LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking live performance from these two Chicago blues legends – recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, but with a gritty electric vibe that's very much like the duo's best work back home! The approach is very stripped-down and unadorned – just vocals by both Guy and Wells – with Buddy on guitar and Junior on harmonica – plus additional piano from Pinetop Perkins, and even the mighty Bill Wyman on bass. Wyman produced the set – very faithfully too – and titles include "How Can One Woman Be So Mean", "Hoodoo Man Blues", "My Younger Days", "Messin With The Kid", and "Ten Years Ago". CD

Some of our favorite work ever from the mighty Lee Hazlewood – material recorded under his own name for Reprise Records – during a stretch when he was also producing for the label with Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin! The 2CD set features 3 full albums, plus great bonus tracks too – and the assembled lot is as great of a tribute to Hazlewood's genius as we've ever seen! First up is The NSVIPs – a set that follows up the same sort of "story song" format that Lee laid down on his wonderful Trouble album for Mercury – but done here with themes that are a bit hipper, and more wry – in keeping with his Reprise persona. Next is Friday's Child, which has some of Hazlewood's most beautifully-penned tunes – tracks that mix the whimsy of his bigger hits with some great darker elements. Last up is the amazing Love & Other Crimes – one of our favorite albums of the 60s, magically recorded in Paris with a very unique sound – and a style that's a bit different than some of Hazlewood's other records. Titles include "First Street Blues", "I Had A Friend", "Everybody Calls Me Something", "Me & Charlie", "A Real Live Fool", "Hutchinson Jail", "By The Way", "Houston", "Morning Dew", "The House Song", "Love & Other Crimes", "Pour Man", and "Wait & See". Bonus tracks are great too – and include Hazlewood tracks "Ode To Billie Joe", "Rainbow Woman", "I Am You Are", and "Charlie Bill Nelson" – plus other gems that include "Just Bluesin" and "Houston" by Sanford Clark, "A Stranger In Town" by The Vanguards, "The Whisk" by The Whisk Kids, "Zapata" by Jack Nitzsche, "What Are We Gonna Do In 64" by The Wildcats, "Our Man Flint" by The Ring A Dings, and "This Town" by Duane Eddy. 55 tracks in all. CD

A classic set from this big 80s group – and given the work that must have gone into the doos on the cover of this one, it's no surprise Klymaxx are in the Ladies Room – most likely still waiting for their hair to dry! The album's a batch of tightly-crafted mid 80s crossover soul – as much pop as it is the kind of female group material you might guess from the time, with keyboards and electric percussion dominating most of the grooves, so that the vocals slide right into the straightest, catchiest approach for the tunes! Titles include "Lock & Key", "The Men All Pause", "Video Kid", "Ask Me No Questions", "Love Bandit", "I Betcha", "I Miss You", and "Just Our Luck". LP, Vinyl record album

Possibly one of the best-remembered albums by John Mayall's legendary Blues Breakers combo – thanks to vocals and guitar from a young Eric Clapton! Clapton at this point is way fresher than in later years – not prone to cliches, and still coming across with a raw, edgey power that is drenched in American blues tradition. Mayall's great too – wailing on harmonica, organ, and piano – and other members of the core group include John McVie on bass and Hughie Flint on drums – augmented by contributions from UK jazzers John Almond on baritone sax and Alan Skidmore on tenor. Titles include "All Your Love", "Little Girl", "Key To Love", "Parchman Farm", "Have You Heard", "It Ain't Right", and "Steppin Out". LP, Vinyl record album

A new life for the ideas of saxophonist David Murray – worked out here in an octet of top-shelf players! The sound is avant one minute, swinging the next – and carried off with a rich sense of jazz tradition that really marks the growing appreciation of roots in the 80s generation of the New York scene. Murray works with both tenor and bass clarinet – and the arrangements here are great – filled with colors that shift and slide along wonderfully, horns that really lift each others' spirits, and work together to find a bold new space in sound. Other group members include Baikida Carroll and Hugh Ragin on trumpets, Craig Harris on trombone, John Purcell on alto, Steve Colson on piano, Wilbur Morris on bass, and Ralph Peterson on drums. Titles are all long – and include "Train Whistle", "Morning Song", "New Life", and "Blues In The Pocket". LP, Vinyl record album

The second full album from Nazz – a set that has Todd Rundgren extending even more dominance over the group through his original songs and arrangements – and, we're willing to guess, a fair bit of production work too – even though that's credited here to the entire band! Rundgren's still not singing lead vocals on most of the tunes, so they've got that slighty more psychedelic feel the group put forth on their debut – but the guitars here have also stepped back a bit, and many of the best tracks have that more fragile, more personal feel that we've always loved in Todd's solo work – even if some of the themes are still a bit varied. Titles include "Hang On Paul", "Rain Rider", "Gonna Cry Today", "Featherbedding Lover", "Kiddie Boy", "Forget All About It", "Not Wrong Long", and "Meridian Leeward". CD

Killer piano jazz, and some of the greatest modernist work ever recorded by Blue Note! Herbie Nichols deserves every bit of the rare fame he ever got – and it's only the paucity of his recordings that has kept him from achieving the status of Monk or Cecil Taylor as an avant garde forefather. This killer box set features all of Nichols' recordings for Blue Note – including loads of unissued and alternate tracks, packaged with a discographical booklet with writings and photos. Tracks include "Third World", "Step Tempest", "Dance Line", "Shuffle Montgomery", "The Spinning Song", "Riff Primitif", "Query", "Chit Chatting", "Hangover Triangle", "2300 Skidoo", and "Blue Chopsticks". CD

Sweet electric funk – and a really great, long-lost Japanese fusion session from the 70s! The album's headed up by Japanese trumpeter Shunzoh Ohno, but it also features work by American players like Reggie Lucas on guitar, Sam Johnson on keyboards, and Roy Haynes on drums – all of whom contributed a really solid rhythm approach to the album, and give it some really funky grounding! The style kind of starts at CTI, but then really stretches out with a more unique appeal – still soulful, and never as rockish as other fusion records from the US – but still with a far-reaching sort of vibe overall. Titles include "Bubbles", "Don't Get Down", "Song For My Kid", and "Bullfight". CD

A trio of Columbia Records sets from Jean-Luc Ponty – served up here in a single package! First up is Gift Of Time – a set that really shows him embracing keyboards much more than at the start of his career – even though he also still turns in plenty of great jazzy sounds on violin! Ponty often seems to be mixing both – using the keyboards to augment inflections in the violin – at a level that makes you feel like he's not using the older stringed instrument at all during some sections, even though it's there in the mix. The set's got a vibe that very much fits with its cover – somewhat lean, with guitar from Pat Thomi, bass from Baron Browne, and percussion and drums from Rayford Griffin. Titles include "Faith In You", "New Resolutions", "No More Doubts", "Metamorphosis", and "Introspective Perceptions". Storytelling is a set that has Jean-Luc Ponty really staying on top of his fusion game – part of that ever-evolving run of records that took the European musician from early straight jazz violin records in the 60s, to the height of American jazz crowds in the 70s and 80s! Here, Ponty continues his exploration of various keyboard modes, while also folding in warm work on electric violin – a blend that's surprisingly seductive, and augmented along the way with guest work from Grover Washington on soprano sax, and Patrice Rushen on additional keyboards. The core group also has guitar from Jamie Glaser, and piano and more keyboards from Wally Minko – on titles that include "Tender Memories", "In The Fast Lane", "After The Storm", "The Amazon Forest", "A Journey's End", and "Pastoral Harmony". Tchokola is a very different record than usual for Jean-Luc Ponty – as you maybe can tell from the global-styled image on the cover! This time around, Ponty's bringing in some key elements from African music – plenty of live, acoustic percussion, which makes for a really great blend with the warmer keyboard and electric violin styles he's normally known for! The percussion was recorded at an analog level, which helps it retain its warmth – a great mix of balafon, tama, sabar, bongos, and other instruments – plus some nice use of kora too. There's also some vocals on the record – sung by Angelique Kidjo and Myriam Betty – and titles include "Yeke Yeke", "Rhum N Zouc", "Cono", "Bottle Bop", "Tchokola", "Sakka Sakka", and "Mouna Bowa". CD

An amazing album from Sun Ra – a set that's got some of the same soulful focus as Space Is The Place, and a really surprising sense of groove on many moments! The record's actually a bit funky – if you can believe it – and was recorded with electric keyboards, bass, and guitar (played by the mysterious Disco Kid) – at the studios of Bob Blank, at a time when he was really able to capture the many strands of music that would come together in a performance, then find just the right way to put them over on record! The album was originally dismissed by many Sun Ra fans for being a funk sell-out album – but over the years, it's become a prized album for its cosmic sense of soul and great focus of the group's more far-reaching ideas – and at some level, it's probably the sound that most people imagine the Arkestra to have when they're first starting out, rather than the more avant material that dominates most of their catalog. The whole thing is wonderful – and titles include "That's How I Feel", "Where Pathways Meet", "Twin Stars of Thence", and "There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)". LP, Vinyl record album

Very hard-burning work from Buddy's hip band of the mid 60s – a large ensemble, but one that features searing horn parts that cut through the bigger arrangements with ease! Buddy really had an ear for tuning power with personality at this point in his career – and although the group comes on with the raging energy that's every bit the Rich calling card in the 60s, they also more than make their individual voices known. Ernie Watts, Jay Corre, and Charles Owens all provide excellent contributions to the set – and titles include "Standing Up In A Hammock", "Luv", "Something For Willie", "Group Shot", "The Rotten Kid", and "New Blues". CD also features 5 bonus tracks – 3 alternate takes of tunes on the album, plus "Naptown Blues" and "Old Timey". CD

Even at a tender young age, Wayne Shorter could exhibit the kind of sensitivity and creative lyricism that would make him one of the giants of modern jazz. This early set – which features playing by Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Higgins, and Jymie Merritt – is filled with haunting original compositions ("Devil's Island", "Dead End", "Powder Keg") and the kind of mature playing that you'd hardly expect from a little tike like Shorter (who, with Lee Morgan, was just a kid when the two of them were playing with Art Blakey). This excellent CD reissue delivers these early tracks in stunning fidelity, and includes 7 alternate takes of the tracks on the orginal LP! CD

One of the most striking records we've ever heard from Swiss music legend Bruno Spoerri – a set that's very different from both his straight jazz recordings and his more experimental work – and instead a soundtrack for an obscure 60s film about a strangler in London! There's definitely a lot of mod elements in the music on the groovy cuts, which are then turned towards more sinister purposes on the spookier ones – so that an organ line can move from swinging to spare and moody, and a bassline can follow in just the same way! There's great use of Spoerri's famous sonic palette here – built up in ways that are almost a precursor to the more striking sonic modes of the Italian scene in the early 70s – and the set fatures 20 tracks in all, including "Plane To Peru", "Brogues In Robes", "Reading The Killer", "Spiral Staircase", "Check Out The Gravel Pit", "To The Brothers Of Compensatory Righteousness", "Don't Blame Jane", and "Kiddie's Beat". LP, Vinyl record album

My god, what a record! This one's genius through and through – a set that sometimes gets eclipsed in the brilliance to come, but which is easily one of our favorites ever by Steely Dan! There's a beautifully focused feel here – thanks to Donald Fagan's incredible lead vocals, and a sense of songwriting that never takes any left turns – no odd forays into different styles or previous genres, just all steeped in Steely, as the group should be by this point! John Klemmer turns in some wonderful sax work that really helps shape the sound, and titles include the wonderful "Caves Of Altimira", "Kid Charlemagne", "Don't Take Me Alive", "Green Earrings", and "The Royal Scam". LP, Vinyl record album

My god, what a record! This one's genius through and through – a set that sometimes gets eclipsed in the brilliance to come, but which is easily one of our favorites ever by Steely Dan! There's a beautifully focused feel here – thanks to Donald Fagan's incredible lead vocals, and a sense of songwriting that never takes any left turns – no odd forays into different styles or previous genres, just all steeped in Steely, as the group should be by this point! John Klemmer turns in some wonderful sax work that really helps shape the sound, and titles include the wonderful "Caves Of Altimira", "Kid Charlemagne", "Don't Take Me Alive", "Green Earrings", and "The Royal Scam". CD

A record that no home should be without – and a stunning set that still carries all the raw power it did way back in 1969! The album's an apocalyptic vision of the future – a future it helped to shape, give its influence over the years – and from start to finish, the whole thing is brilliant – from the raw energy of the band, to the sneering lyrics of Iggy Pop, to the perfect production by John Cale – who's opening up a whole new side of his genius with his studio work here. The set begins with the boldly declarative "1969" – maybe one of our favorite Stooges songs ever – then moves into the landmark "I Wanna Be Your Dog", over to the ten minute freakout of "We Will Fall", to the classic "No Fun", through the cuts "Real Cool Time", "Ann", "Not Right", and "Little Doll". Imitated by many, but never done this well again – and a record that will most likely still be blowing the minds of our grandkids! LP, Vinyl record album

Stringbean may look a bit silly on the cover, but he's a dead serious banjo player – one of the greats of his generation, and an artist who's sometimes overlooked on his instrument, because of a penchant for humor in his live performances! And although some of the songs here have a bit of wit at the start, once things get going, Stringbean's in that great mix of old time styles that the Starday Records label was hitting hard in the 60s – one of the few strong outlets for more country-flavored work on banjo, at a time when so many of the folk revival kids wanted things steered a bit more their way! Needless to say, you probably never would have caught Stringbean headlining a club in the Village – but that difference is what makes a record like this so great to discover – as you'll hear on titles that include "Birdie", "Don't Bob Your Hair Girls", "Herdin Cattle", "Keep My Skillet Good & Greasy", "Give Me Back My Five Dollars", and "Wake Up Little Betty". CD

The brilliant 3rd album from Mike Westbrook – a sharp-edged, two volume set with a scathing anti-war theme! The work is Westbrook's first total-concept album, and it's still one of his best – written with an edge that's free from some of the more whimsical touches that showed up in Mike's later years, and played by a core group of British avant soloists with searing intensity! You've never heard large group scoring like this – bold, ambitious, and quite different than most of what's come before. And although the whole thing sounds as if it's going to fall apart at any moment, it always snaps back into a sharp focus just in the nick of time – with brilliant results that bring the same sense of surprise that you might get from, say, a classic album from Charles Mingus or Archie Shepp! Players include Kenny Wheeler and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Mike Gibbs and Paul Rutherford on trombones, John Surman on baritone and soprano sax, Mike Osborne on alto and clarinet, Alan Skidmore on tenor and flute, Brian Smith on tenor, and Harry Miller and Barre Phillips on bass. Titles on this first volume include "Landscape", "Hooray", "Other World", and "Marching Song". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant 3rd album from Mike Westbrook – a sharp-edged, two volume set with a scathing anti-war theme! The work is Westbrook's first total-concept album, and it's still one of his best – written with an edge that's free from some of the more whimsical touches that showed up in Mike's later years, and played by a core group of British avant soloists with searing intensity! You've never heard large group scoring like this – bold, ambitious, and quite different than most of what's come before. And although the whole thing sounds as if it's going to fall apart at any moment, it always snaps back into a sharp focus just in the nick of time – with brilliant results that bring the same sense of surprise that you might get from, say, a classic album from Charles Mingus or Archie Shepp! Players include Kenny Wheeler and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Mike Gibbs and Paul Rutherford on trombones, John Surman on baritone and soprano sax, Mike Osborne on alto and clarinet, Alan Skidmore on tenor and flute, Brian Smith on tenor, and Harry Miller and Barre Phillips on bass. Titles on this second volume include "Transition", "Rosie", "Tension", "Ballad", "Conflict", and "Requiem". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal bit of work from Mike Westbrook – recorded back in the early years of his career, when he still had a pretty sharp edge! Like Westbrook's first few albums on Decca, this set features the British avant jazz maestro playing piano with a large ensemble of some of England's finest jazzmen – including Ray Warleigh, Alan Skidmore, Harry Beckett, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Rutehrford, and Harry Miller. Norma Winstone sings on a few tracks, bringing in her lovely voice in the way that she does on Westbrook's best albums – but overall, the set's a bit more out there and more avant than some of his earlier work, but still has the majestic cohesiveness that makes his work of the time so great. The work is one long piece, split into 9 segments. CD

A seminal bit of work from Mike Westbrook – recorded back in the early years of his career, when he still had a pretty sharp edge! Like Westbrook's first few albums on Decca, this set features the British avant jazz maestro playing piano with a large ensemble of some of England's finest jazzmen – including Ray Warleigh, Alan Skidmore, Harry Beckett, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Rutehrford, and Harry Miller. Norma Winstone sings on a few tracks, bringing in her lovely voice in the way that she does on Westbrook's best albums – but overall, the set's a bit more out there and more avant than some of his earlier work, but still has the majestic cohesiveness that makes his work of the time so great. The work is one long piece, split into 9 segments. CD

Very early work from Ruth White – a set that's very different than her late 60s electronic experiments, yet one that also still manages to have a similarly sort of creepy vibe overall! The work is exactly what's promised in the title – a set of 24 lullabies, sung in different languages by both Marilyn Horne and Richard Robinson – with light piano backing from Ruth, and a recording quality that somehow makes these supposedly restful songs come across with a vibe that is quite unsettling – maybe the sorts of tunes used to put the kids to bed on the island in Wicker Man! Titles include "English Cradle Song", "Dormi Dormi", "Gaelic Lullaby", "All Through The Night", "Tigua Indian Lullaby", "Danish Cradle Song", and "Prayer Humperdinck". CD

The full early work of UK pop singer Kim Wilde – a big force on both sides of the Atlantic for a few short years, and part of a great wave of catchy girl-fronted music in the generation that also included Blondie and the Go-Gos! Kim's got her own special twist on the sound – one that also draws from some of the UK pop of the period, but which also never moves into too much synth or electro pop – and instead takes all the best upbeat, live energy of the early new wave years – and maybe gives it a more straightforward spin, in a way that helped Wilde get plenty of play on the charts! This nicely-done set features all three albums for the RAK label – Kim Wilde, Select, and Catch As Catch Can – plus bonus tracks that include "Boys", "He Will be There", "Child Come Away", "Just Another Guy", "Watching For Shapes", "Rain On", and "Back Seat Drive". CD4 features lots more bonus tracks too – special disco mixes that include "Kids In America (Luke Mornay rmx)", "Chequered Love (Matt Pop ext)", "Water On Glass (Project K soundtrack)", "Cambodia (Matt Pop ext)", "View From A Bridge (Project K soundtrack)", and "Take Me Tonight (Luke Mornay profondo giallo mix)". CD

The full length debut of the Yancey Boys – Frank Nitt & Illa J – the former of the venerable duo Frank N Dank, the latter J Dilla's rhyme centric younger brother – who come together with the dual purpose of keeping J Dilla's production pedigree alive, and to simply deliver timeless, top notch Detroit hip hop! Production is provided by J Dilla's archive – and a pretty impressive roster of Dilla friends and collaborators take part as guests – include Common, Talib Kweli, Posdnuos of De La Soul, Dank, Rhettmatic, Eric Roberson, Guilty Simpson, J Roc and others. Titles include "Dilltro" with Dank, "Fisherman" feat Vice, J Rocc & Detroit Serious, "Flowers" with Kweli, Niko Grey & Rhettmatic, "Without Wings", "Beautiful" with Posdnuos, "Quicksand" with Slimkid3 & Niko Gray", "The Throwaway", "This Evening" and more. CD

The full length debut of the Yancey Boys – Frank Nitt & Illa J – the former of the venerable duo Frank N Dank, the latter J Dilla's rhyme centric younger brother – who come together with the dual purpose of keeping J Dilla's production pedigree alive, and to simply deliver timeless, top notch Detroit hip hop! Production is provided by J Dilla's archive – and a pretty impressive roster of Dilla friends and collaborators take part as guests – include Common, Talib Kweli, Posdnuos of De La Soul, Dank, Rhettmatic, Eric Roberson, Guilty Simpson, J Roc and others. Titles include "Dilltro" with Dank, "Fisherman" feat Vice, J Rocc & Detroit Serious, "Flowers" with Kweli, Niko Grey & Rhettmatic, "Without Wings", "Beautiful" with Posdnuos, "Quicksand" with Slimkid3 & Niko Gray", "The Throwaway", "This Evening" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A key record in showcasing Frank Zappa's blend of complicated compositions and all-out jamming – that mix of hard rock and serious songwriting that would direct his energy for most of the 70s – yet still pretty darn raw at this point! The album's a live one – with some of the same great spontaneous energy of the Fillmore set, but even less silliness – even amidst the album's longer songs and weirdass lyrics! The set begins with the extended "Billy The Mountain" – definitely a journey in music – then rolls into "Call Any Vegetable", "Eddie Are You Kidding", "Magdalena", and "Dog Breath". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Vess Ossman, Bert Williams, Al Jolson, Mammie Smith, Sissle & Blake, Kid Ory, Jelly Roll Morton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Red Nichols, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday & more. CD

Mixed compilation featuring tracks by Andrea True Connection, Salsoul Orchestra, Ritchie Family, Gwen McCrae, Kool & The Gang, Walter Murphy, KC & The Sunshine Band, George McCrae, Crown Heights Affair, Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids, and Ecstasy Passion & Pain. LP, Vinyl record album