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Funky Texas soul from the mighty Bobby Patterson – a singer who also recorded for the Jewel/Paula label in the early 70s, but who's heard here on earlier work for Jetstar Records, plus a few never-issued tracks! Bobby's voice has this great raw style – one that crackles even more as the grooves move faster – really hitting with sock-soul energy on just about every track in this set – clearly inspired by the music of James Brown, but very much off into his own bag – a special funky legacy that's very much Patterson's own! Titles include "My Thing Is Your Thing", "Busy Busy Bee", "Mama's Got A New Bag Too", "TCB Or TYA", "Soul Is Our Music", "I'm Leroy I'll take Her", "I'm A Slave To You", "What A Wonderful Night For Love", "Broadway Ain't Funky No More", "My Baby's Coming Back To Me", and "The Knock Out Power Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

John Coltrane works here with two strong pianists – both on different sessions from his early years at Prestige! Mating Call is first up – a sublime early set from Coltrane, and one of Tadd Dameron's greatest moments on record ever! The session's a laidback quartet one – with John Simmons on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums, completing the group with Dameron on piano and Trane on tenor – all coming together in a style that's loose, but still quite sharp overall – especially given Coltrane's tremendous tone, which really helps take the record to the next level from the very first moment it comes into the mix! Dameron's piano is strong, but subtle – and his compositions are what really make the record great – tunes that include "Soultrane", "Mating Call", "Romas", "Super Jet", and "On A Misty Night". Cats is a record issued under the name of pianist Tommy Flanagan – one of the best Prestige Records blowing sessions from the late 50s – an all-star sextet effort that features Flanagan on piano, John Coltrane on tenor, Idrees Sulieman on trumpet, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Doug Watkins on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Tracks are long, and open – and although each player is really at their best on their solos, there's still a sense of group unity that makes the record stand out from other efforts of its type – enough so that it's often cited as a key early entry in the Coltrane catalog. Titles include "Eclypso", "Solacium", "Tommy's Tune", and "Minor Mishap". CD also features the track "How Long Has This Been Going On", which only features the rhythm section, without Coltrane or Sulieman. CD

Legendary hip hop eccentric and pioneer of multi-personality hip hop Kool Keith teams up with producer Mr Sche! The pairing works out well, thank you very much – with Keith delivering his trademark sci fi and sex obsessed rhymes as tightly as he has in years – and Sche's southern hip hop production finesse finding pretty solid footing underneath KK's outer space style. Guests include Dolla Bill, Psycholistic, Jozzy, Pimpminista and Metropolis. Includes "Thunder Cats (Jet Packs), "Ride & Mug", "Ewokie Galaxy Swag", "Jedi Supreme", "Skreet Smart" feat Dollar Bill & Psycolistic, "Death Star Pimp Mobile", "Plottin'" feat Jozzy, "Watch The Trone", "Dark Vador Light Sabor" "Magnetic Pimp Force Field" and more. CD

A set of rare live material from legendary pianist Oscar Peterson – recorded in Paris during a time when his star was really rising on the global scene! The tracks were recorded for French radio, at the Olympia Theater in the city – and the package features the famous trio with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums! For fans of the important Thigpen years – which most folks know from the early 60s Verve Recordings – this extra material is a dream come true – especially as the set is from a time when the trio was in top form. Many tracks are quite long – in territory similar to the Live In Chicago recordings by the group – and titles include "Cubano Chant", "Whisper Not", "The Lamp Is Low", "Jet Song", "Tin Tin Deo", and "Yours Is My Heart Alone". LP, Vinyl record album

A wealth of rare live material from legendary pianist Oscar Peterson – all recorded in Paris during a time when his star was really rising on the global scene! All material was recorded for French radio, at the Olympia Theater in the city – and the package mostly features the famous trio with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – save for four tracks that feature the earlier group with Brown and Herb Ellis on guitar! For fans of the important Thigpen years – which most folks know from the early 60s Verve Recordings – this huge amount of material is a dream come true – especially as the set is very heavily focused on tracks from the years of 1961 and 1962, when the trio was in top form. Many tracks are quite long – in territory similar to the Live In Chicago recordings by the group – and titles include "Cubano Chant", "Moanin", "Whisper Not", "Somewhere", "I Feel Pretty", "Dizzy Atmosphere", "On Green Dolphin Street", "The Lamp Is Low", "My Heart Stood Still", "Jet Song", "Tin Tin Deo", "Daahoud", "Jordu", "Little Suzie", "Ill Wind", and "I Remember Clifford". CD

A pretty tasty batch of Caribbean soul tracks – recorded in New York, but with an extended groove that seems mostly Haitian – inflected by some nice jazzy work on guitar! The tunes have an extremely rhythmic quality – looping back and forth on top of each other, with African-styled lead guitar, and some catchy instrumentation on saxes, percussion, and keyboards. Most tunes have vocals, and titles include "UFO 10 Speed", "Regrets", "Jive Turkey", "Black Out 77", and "Sabrina". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the first recordings ever made by the New York Dolls – a blistering session of 21 demos that were all cut in one night during March of 1973 – creating the sound that formed the blueprint for their classic albums to come! The vibe here is maybe what you would have heard, had you caught the group at one of their legendary Mercer Arts shows – as the tunes are raw, noisy, and effortlessly blend early rock and early punk energy in their performance! The group's got a very fresh sound – having just begun working with second drummer Jerry Nolan – and the guitars from Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain are razor-sharp throughout. Titles include "Jet Boy", "Looking For A Kiss", "Seven Day Weekend", "Frankenstein", "Who Are The Mystery Girls", "Showdown", "Bad Girl", "Pills", "Personality Crisis", "Don't Start Me Talkin", "Lonely Planet Boy", "Subway Train", "It's Too Late", and "Bad Detective". CD

The crowning achievement of ELO at their best – a double-length set in which the genius of Jeff Lynne gets extra space to fully flower – and his mighty talents don't let up for a minute! The record's given us some classics over the years – standout tracks like "Mr Blue Sky", "Turn To Stone", and "Sweet Talkin Woman" – but the whole thing works perfectly together – as a sublime sonic treat that has all the Lynne studio genius coming into full focus, moving between different textures of electricity and light, through a set of songs that sound infinitely different than the group just a few years before. Other tracks include "It's Over", "Night In The City", "Starlight", "Jungle", "Believe Me Now", "Steppin Out", "Sweet Is The Night", "Standing In The Rain", "Summer & Lightning", "Wild West Hero", "The Whale", and "Birmingham Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Cool cuts from around the globe – all brought together in one wonderfully funky set! The music here all draws heavily from American funk and psych styles – and often uses some slightly different instrumentation, or more regional inflection – to make the usual psych funk styles sound even more groovy and exotic – in a mindblowing way that makes the entire set a real musical delight! Most tracks are instrumental – heavy on drums and fuzzy guitar – but there's a few vocal moments, too – and the funk current is super-strong, way more so than on other collections that promise a heavy bottom, but usually just present offbeat psych. Titles include "Jet Pop" by Bana Pop Band, "Foxy Lady" by 49th Blue Streak, "Karate Chop" by The Tijuana Brats, "Stari Dvorac" by Pro Arte, "Nie Przejziemy Do Historii" by Krzysztof Klenczon, "Louis Louis" by Friar Tuck, "Time Of Machines" by Sergio Ferraresi, and "The Shaman's Dance" by Alexandr Sergeyevich. LP, Vinyl record album

A really great look at the more tuneful side of the UK scene during the prime years of punk rock – a set that doesn't ignore punk for more mainstream material – but instead shows the way the new sound was influencing bands in a variety of styles, who were then also turning things back with a nice new edge of their own! Most of these tracks aren't by artists you'd think of as punk legends – although there are a few in the mix – but there's definitely a short, sharp shock to most of the tunes, while still also exploding with a strong sense of melody too! The whole thing is a really great way to go back to this generation – and has a much more sophisticated approach than you'd guess from the "power pop" or "new wave" in the title – a logic that's also spelled out in the very big booklet of notes that comes with the box. 3CD set features 76 tracks in all – with work by The Times, Piranhas, Squeeze, Buzzcocks, Distractions, Rich Kids, Any Trouble, Yachts, Bleeding Hearts, Salford Jets, Bram Tchaikovsky, Monochrome Set, The Boys, Barracudas, Realists, Radio Stars, The Circles, Ruts, Tonight, Nips, Amber Squad, Thought Police, Knox, Eater, Shooter, Those Naughty Lumps, Autographs, and many more! CD

A record with a sexy cover and a slinky sound to match – the rare second album from the cool French instrumental combo Les Jaguars – a 60s group who start in modes that resemble American surf guitar, but really take off into some great directions of their own! The style here is familiar – bass, two guitars, and drums – but the quality of the instrumentation gets nicely complex, and opens up way past catchy themes and references to sand and surf – as the group turn in mostly original tunes throughout, and have some especially great interplay between the two guitars – at a level that might normally be carried by an additional keyboard or tenor sax. The record's a hell of an instro rocker – way more so than you'd guess from the cheesecake cover – and titles include "Tourbillon", "Guitare Cha Cha", "Melle Yeye", "Guitare Strip", "Guitare Jet", "Dors Mon Amour", and "Jaguar Shake". LP, Vinyl record album

A host of killer cuts from the legendary Trojan Records – all pulled together here in a very limited box set! The package features songs chosen by Paul Smiler Anderson and Mark Baxter in tandem with their book on UK skinhead culture – a working class underground that rose up in the late 60s with a very different vibe than its later American counterpart – British kids who were more down to earth than mods, and who had as much of an open ear for sounds from the new immigrants to London as they did for the previous generation's American soul. This set really shows the kind of special cuts that broke big with the crowd – and titles include "Bang Bang Lulu" by Lloyd Terrel, "Train To Soulsville" by Cool Sticky, "Skinhead Girl" by Symarip, "CN Express (part 1)" by Clancy's All Stars, "I Can't Get Next To You" by Dave Barker & The Charmers, "Worries" by The Versatiles, "It Miek" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Freedom Street" by Ken Boothe, "Soul Food" by Lyn Taitt & The Jets, "Don't Stay Away" by Phyllis Dillon, "The Scorcher" by Errol Dunkley, and "Shades Of Hudson" by Dennis Alcapone. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Hipster sounds from the pre-hippie years – tracks that were either recorded by beatniks, or which have a very cool beat-themed style to them – all pulled together from a range of rare recordings at the end of the 50s and the start of the 60s! The sound here is maybe what you'd guess from the very groovy cover – a bit of jazz, and a bit of wit as well – tunes that poke a bit of fun at the intellectual underground, especially as it collides with the more mainstream sound of rock and roll – served up here on a dozen fab platters that sound even better in the company of each other! The album's divided up into a "mean side" and "bongo beatin side" – and titles include "Jet Black" by The Shadows, "Bongo Beating Beatnik" by Joe Hall & The Corvettes, "Goatee" by Joey Warren, "Theme From Von Hutch" by Jerry Madison & The Spacemen, "The Toast" by The Champs, "Money Money" by Benny Joy, "Gargantua" by Piltdown Men, and "Back Beat No 1" by The Rondels. LP, Vinyl record album