With sidemen that include Manny Klein and Billy Butterfield on trumpet, Bobby Sherwood on guitar, Jack Jenny on trombone, and Buddy Rich on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Four lost albums from David Blue – a really compelling singer/songwriter, ripe for rediscovery! First up is These 23 Days In September, recorded for Reprise – a really moody little record from David Blue – a folksy singer who's got a style that definitely lives up to the melancholy promise of his name! Blue's definitely an artist with a difference – working in the familiar mode of vocals and acoustic guitar, but with an edge and distinctness that really sets him apart from the folkies of a few year before – that sense of different that really set apart a new wave of contemporaries, like Leonard Cohen, Fred Neill, or Tom Rapp. Titles include "These 23 Days In September", "The Sailor's Lament", "Scales For A Window Thief", "You Will Come Back Again", "Slow & Easy", and "The Grand Hotel". Stories is an overlooked early set on Asylum – the kind of really special singer/songwriter material that really set the label apart at the start of the 70s! David Blue has this compelling vocal style that's moody, but down to earth – inflected here and there with guitar contributions from Ry Cooder, who's understated, but really brings out some special qualities in the tunes. Jack Nitzsche adds in some light strings at points – but overall, things are pretty spare and personal – and titles include "Looking For A Friend", "Another One Like Me", "Sister Rose", "The Blues", "Come On John", "Marianne", and "Fire In The Morning". Nice Baby & The Angel shows David Blue really starting to get some star power in his mix – a fuller set, produced by Graham Nash – with work from Nash on guitar, plus more guitar from Dave Mason and David Lindley – in a nice mix of roots elements, but which never overwhelm that unique sense of songwriting and vocals that set David Blue apart from the rest. Titles include "Darlin Jenny", "Troubadour Song", "Train To Anaheim", "True To You", "On Sunday Any Sunday", and "Outlaw Man". On the cover of Cupid's Arrow, David Blue might look a bit cheesy, what with his open shirt and all – but he's definitely the real deal, and very down to earth in his singer/songwriter approach – with a quality that's only underscored by the lineup on the set – a group that features Levon Helm on drums, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar, David Lindley on mandolin and slide, and Barry Goldberg on piano and organ, and also handling production of the album too. The shift from David's roots is a bit like that taken by other contemporaries who once started in more folksy territory, then found a new way to grow in the west coast singer/songwriter scene – and that means that things are more electrified, but still quite far from mainstream music – with original tunes from Blue throughout, and titles that include "I Feel Bad", "Maria Maria", "Primeval Tune", She's Got You", "Tom's Song", and "Run Run Run". CD

A rare gem by singer Jackie Paris – an underrecorded LA singer from the 50s and 60s, with a sound and style that's somewhere between early Mark Murphy and later Bobby Troup! Paris has less of the vocalese approach of some of his contemporaries – and is also lacking the heavy vocal style of singers like Johnny Hartman or Billy Eckstine – which means that he's got a bright, to the point approach that's rare for singers of his generation. Arrangements on the set are by Bobby Scott – who does a good job of shifting between jazzy and moody to fit the range of the material – and titles include "Jenny", "My Very Good Friend In The Looking Glass", "Nobody Loses All The Time", "Duke's Place", "Thad's Blues", and "Cinderella". LP, Vinyl record album

Aahh, sweet lover's rock, and all from Studio One no less! Whether you're looking to set the mood for a late night rub up, or just want to cool out to some mellow island vibes, this batch of easy rockin' lover's numbers cut under the supervision of Coxsone Dodd is just the ticket. You get sweet soulful numbers from Studio One stalwarts, plus a number of nice tracks by some lesser known stars in the Studio One galaxy, and as you'd expect from a Soul Jazz set, it's wrapped up quite nicely. 18 tracks in all, including "I Don't Know Why" by Delroy Wilson, "Touch Me Baby" by Myrna Hague, "Darling I Need Your Loving" by John Holt & The Paragons, "Ten To One" by The Mad Lads, "Reggae Magic" by Jackie Mittoo, "Too Long Will Be Too Late" by Freddy & Jenny, "Let Him Try" by Alton Ellis, "Don't Wait For Me" by Albert Tomlinson, "Got To Be Sure" by Horace Andy, "Ready To Learn" by the Heptones, 'We're All Alone" by Doreen Schaefer and more! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unique compilations we've ever heard – a set that gets at the really unique way that soul music came across on the British scene of the 60s – as American influences were mixed with local interpretations, which themselves drew plenty of influences from related scenes in the West Indies and South Africa at the time! The scope of expression here is hugely different than any American soul collections from the time – and while there's definitely a few Americans in the mix from time to time, they're mostly represented by recordings done in England, amidst a huge amount of artists who never get reissued on our side of the Atlantic! Usually, a set like this would be put together to show that Northern Soul created some upbeat music on the British scene – but with this gem of a collection, the scope is much wider, and really open to the influences that were running through black communities in England during these key post-colonial years. The package has a massive amount of music – 115 tracks in all, with a very cool book-styled package that's got superb notes and plenty of images – to support work by Lorraine Child, Peter Straker, Maxine Nightingale, Cy Grant, Cab Kaye, Dimples & Eddie, Ronnie Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Norma Lee, Jimmy Tomas, Jackie Edwards, Madeline Bell, Oliver Norman, The Fantastics, Root & Jenny Jackson, Ram John Holder, Simon K & The Meantimers, Caleb, The Foundations, The Soul Brothers, Blue Beaters, Seven Letters, Joe's All Stars, Sonny & The Daffodils, Tony Washington & The DCs, Davy Jones, Geoff Love, Ray Ellington, Emile Ford & The Big Six, Millie, Rico, Black Velvet, and many others! CD

One of the most unique compilations we've ever heard – a set that gets at the really unique way that soul music came across on the British scene of the 60s – as American influences were mixed with local interpretations, which themselves drew plenty of influences from related scenes in the West Indies and South Africa at the time! The scope of expression here is hugely different than any American soul collections from the time – and while there's definitely a few Americans in the mix from time to time, they're mostly represented by recordings done in England, amidst a huge amount of artists who never get reissued on our side of the Atlantic! Usually, a set like this would be put together to show that Northern Soul created some upbeat music on the British scene – but with this gem of a collection, the scope is much wider, and really open to the influences that were running through black communities in England during these key post-colonial years. The package has a massive amount of music – 115 tracks in all, with a very cool book-styled package that's got superb notes and plenty of images – to support work by Lorraine Child, Peter Straker, Maxine Nightingale, Cy Grant, Cab Kaye, Dimples & Eddie, Ronnie Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Norma Lee, Jimmy Tomas, Jackie Edwards, Madeline Bell, Oliver Norman, The Fantastics, Root & Jenny Jackson, Ram John Holder, Simon K & The Meantimers, Caleb, The Foundations, The Soul Brothers, Blue Beaters, Seven Letters, Joe's All Stars, Sonny & The Daffodils, Tony Washington & The DCs, Davy Jones, Geoff Love, Ray Ellington, Emile Ford & The Big Six, Millie, Rico, Black Velvet, and many others! CD