... LP, Vinyl record album

The rare early 80s club soul set from Margie Joseph – kind of an bubbling, synth and programming era departure of the stunning female southern soul singer! The groove is definitely a left turn for Margie, but it's endearing modern club soul – with the dancefloor gem "Knockout" and others like it, plus more laidback gems that more of a showcase for incredible voice – which is still soaring and beautiful at this point! Titles include "Knockout" (special mix), "Moove To The Groove", "Gonna Get You", "Give It To Me", "Pull The Shade", "The One You Can Trust" and more – plus 3 bonus tracks: a re-edit and an extended mix of "Knockout" plus a previously unreleased remix of "Moove To The Groove". CD

The second of Dio's twin masterpieces – a second album knockout that followed Holy Diver by a single year! The biggest difference this time out is the addition of full time keyboard player Claude Schnell to the band, making Dio a quintet – but what the keyboards do NOT do is air out the heaviness. This remains a headbanging classic, with songs as heavy as any in the Dio canon. Like they did on Holy Diver, the band balances a melodic sensibility with heavy rock in a way that would prove hugely influential – we can't imagine the quietly melodic to massively heavy transitions on Metallica's Master Of Puppets LP could've been what they are without the opening minute of the title track here, but this whole thing is a win – with "We Rock", "Mystery", Breathless", "I Speed At Night", "One Night In The City", "Evil Eyes", "Eat Your Heart Out" and "Egypt (The Chains Are On)". CD

Sean Price moves in for the knockout! Includes "Genesis Of The Omega", "Bar-Barian", "Pyrex", "Price & Shining Armour" feat Ruste Juxx, "Straight Music", "Hush", "Solmon Grundy" with Ill Bill, "Frankenberry" with Buckshot, "BBQ Sauce" with Pharoahe Monch, "By The Way" with Torae, "The Hardest N***a Out" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Raw, raunchy sounds – all pulled together from a time before soul and rock even existed! Most of the work here is from the classic catalog of King Records – a killer imprint in the postwar R&B market, and a company who wasn't afraid to do what it took to make a knockout record! In the case of these tracks, the singers often hit some fairly suggestive material – often hidden in early 50s innuendo, but barely so – with a vibe that's often nastier than even the most hardcore rockabilly sounds to come! The music here has its roots in blues, but is inflected with plenty of jazz, and the presence of the singers often point the way towards soul music – especially the James Brown crowd that would later rise at the same label. Titles on this volume include "Keep On Churnin Till The Butter Comes" by Wynonie Harris, "Drill Daddy Drill" by Dorothy Ellis, "The Coffee Grind" by Hank Ballard, "Silent George" by Lucky Millinder with Myra Johnson, "Rocket 69" by Todd Rhodes with Connie Allen, and "Chocolate Pork Chop Man" by Pete Guitar Lewis. CD

A very well-done collection of Charlie Parker performances from the legendary Birdland nightclub – originally presented on radio, but cleaned up here with a great sense of sound! The mighty Symphony Sid can be heard introducing a few tracks, but the main focus is on the music – with the kind of razor-sharp solos that always made Parker a knockout, especially during these key early 50s years – and accompaniment from musicians who include Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Bud Powell or John Lewis on piano, Kenny Clarke or Roy Haynes on drums, and even the surprising inclusion of organist Milt Buckner at one point! The album may well be worth it, just to hear Bird playing with a Hammond – but the whole thing's great, and titles include "Cool Blues", "Star Eyes", "Blue N Boogie", "Anthropology", "Night In Tunisia", and "Groovin High". LP, Vinyl record album

A great debut from singer Wanda Stafford – and the kind of set that makes you think she's been recording albums like this for years! Wanda's got a hell of a voice, right from the start – a nice punch that really fits with the choice of material on the date – and with the lively arrangements, which often have these playful horn parts moving up and down in the background – almost in a Capitol Records Jack Marshall or Billy May sort of style – although the instrumentation isn't credited here. The mix of great music and swinging vocals is great – and the album's a real knockout from Stafford, with cuts that include "Ridin On The Moon", "In Love For The Very First Time", "Hooray For Love", "Let There Be Love", "Late Late Show", and "Love". CD

A round two knockout for Gnarls Barkley – an album we think is better than the landmark St Elsewhere LP – boisterous pop art & soul from Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo! We were slightly trepid when the Odd Couple was announced, fearing a hasty attempt to rekindle the magic that clearly caught everyone by surprise a couple years ago, but that worry is squashed. This is a near masterpiece, kids! Incredibly deep and impressively spun from obscure sound library records, Italian soundtracks, and all kinds of moddish samples by Danger Mouse – with warmly scratchy vocals by Cee-Lo that are as fresh as anything he's ever done. Again, he's laughing in the face of darkness and depression, and somehow making a party out of it! You won't find another mainstream success story this year that's so fun and charming on a superficial level – while truthfully dark and troubled if you focus some on the lyrics. Hype be damned, this one's amazing! Tracks include "Charity Case", "Who's Gonna Save My Soul", "Going On", "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)", "Would Be Killer", "Open Book", "Whatever", "Surprise", "No Time Soon", "She Knows", "Blind Mary", "Neighbors", "A Little Better". CD

Raw, raunchy sounds – all pulled together from a time before soul and rock even existed! Most of the work here is from the classic catalog of King Records – a killer imprint in the postwar R&B market, and a company who wasn't afraid to do what it took to make a knockout record! In the case of these tracks, the singers often hit some fairly suggestive material – often hidden in early 50s innuendo, but barely so – with a vibe that's often nastier than even the most hardcore rockabilly sounds to come! The music here has its roots in blues, but is inflected with plenty of jazz, and the presence of the singers often point the way towards soul music – especially the James Brown crowd that would later rise at the same label. Titles on this volume include "I Like My Baby's Pudding" by Wynonie Harris, "My Natchl Man" by Fluffy Hunter, "Mountain Oysters" by Eddie Davis, "Let Me Be Stay Away From Me" by Freddy King, "Can't Do Sixty No More" by Billy Ward & The Domonies, "My Ding A Ling" by Dave Bartholomew, "Butcher Pete" by Roy Brown, and "Sittin On It All The Time" by Wynonie Harris. CD

Raw, raunchy sounds – all pulled together from a time before soul and rock even existed! Most of the work here is from the classic catalog of King Records – a killer imprint in the postwar R&B market, and a company who wasn't afraid to do what it took to make a knockout record! In the case of these tracks, the singers often hit some fairly suggestive material – often hidden in early 50s innuendo, but barely so – with a vibe that's often nastier than even the most hardcore rockabilly sounds to come! The music here has its roots in blues, but is inflected with plenty of jazz, and the presence of the singers often point the way towards soul music – especially the James Brown crowd that would later rise at the same label. Titles on this volume include "Sexy Ways" by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, "Lolly Pop Mama" by Wynonie Harris, "I Want A Bowlegged Woman" by Bull Moose Jackson, "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down" by Billy Ward & The Dominoes, "Will You Be Mine" by The Swallows, "Leave My Kitten Alone" by Little Willie John, "Sixy Minute Man" by Billy Ward & The Dominoes, and "Lovin Machine" by Wynonie Harris. CD

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Features music by Nino & The Ebb Tides, Sherrif & The Revels, Jimmy Norman, The Tune Rockers, Charlie Gracie, Clyde McPhatter, The Velvetones, The Knockouts, Mark IV, and more! CD